The Dark Side of the Moon
by angelsslave
Summary: Set in 1855 and present day, an AU twilight based story. Bella and her family move to Ireland to begin a new life. A book and a mysterious pendant unlocks the mystery behind 'Wideacre Hall' and a family called Cullen.
1. Chapter 1

**The dark side of the Moon…**

Written by: angelsslave © 2010

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to the characters of 'The Twilight Saga' they are property of Stephenie Meyer ©

Preface…

_Ireland, 1855_

The snow had fallen thick where she ran. Deep pockets of white iridescent ice covered the expanse landscape as she gathered her skirts higher, her brown boots no longer could be seen as with each foot fall, her legs became tangled up in both linen and frozen compacted snow that only seemed to slow her down, hamper her escape…

"Bella!"

Her name rang out against the wind howling around her as ice battered her face, her long hair became almost a halo as it wrapped itself around her.

'No more, no more' was all she could pant as her heart jack-hammered inside her aching chest, tears that had long since stopped falling, threatened to break forward once more…slow her down just as the snow and the horrendous wind tried to.

She heard her name being called again and kept going, despite the tiredness creeping into her bones. Despite her clothing now sodden with snow, the cold threatening to overcome her as her teeth gritted together. Despite the howling pain growing fast inside her chest, ripping through her as she bit back another sob as she remained fixed on going forward, refusing to turn back.

"Bella, don't be ridiculous come back here at once!"

The harsh threat did not make her stop it only fuelled her determination to keep going, keep running,

"B-ELL-A"

Her name carried in the wind with angered determination, as the voice lent itself to exasperation and exhausted commanding moving her instead of halting, forcing her weary body further as she kept running from its command,

"You can't go very far. Don't be so childish and come back here at once!"

She pushed on, angered further by his reprimand clutching her shawl that had begun to slip of her thin shoulders more firmly around her, shaking her head as she sobbed once more,

'I will not go back, I cannot go back.'

Stumbling she fell once again, each time the snow did little to impact the fall because as it lay on the ground it had already began to harden. She closed her eyes and willed with all her heart that if now was the time she would gladly give herself over; allow the darkness to take her, to save her from this life,

'Ple-eea-se'

Her hands were frozen from the biting wind, her clothes soaked from the falling snow, her sight hampered by the flakes criss-crossing in front of her eyes as she stumbled further on, feeling his presence getting closer, praying for redemption from her fate. With one hand wrapped around her shawl, in the other she clutched the only inanimate object that kept her in this world…the moonstone,

'H-help me, you said you would never l-leave me'

She heard his hollow laugh close by, he was getting nearer as with titanic effort she fought to free herself from the frozen threads that wanted to bind her to the ground. For no ice felt colder than the hatred behind her, stalking its prey with playful determination,

"It's no use my sweet little Bella, you have already exhausted any effort of escape." The dark sneer behind startled her at just how close he was, how near he was to capturing her again,

"N-no…" her rasped scream called out, even that simple gesture was humanly impossible without draining any energy that she had reserved to get away. A sinister laugh rang out, deep and throaty, alluding to no merriment on his part,

"It's too late for that now my love…"

She bit her swollen lip and faltered with each stumbling step. She was so tired, so exhausted…

Ice cold fingers pinched painfully around the object she held tightly in her hand,

"I-If you can hear me now, h-help m-me, you p-promised you would…"

She fell again and like before her efforts to get up became increasingly slower…she was running out of luck as well as time.

"You can't run away little one," the dark voice was so close, she could feel his frozen breath at her ear, "I'm tired of this game now, tired of toying with my food."

Her heart practically stopped, as if forcing the blood that rushed around her body to stop. To cease its function so that the organ would no longer need to work, to give in to satisfaction as the dark voice was followed by an even darker face and blacker soul that belonged to it,

"You can't run anymore…Bella…"

Anger rose up that had previously been hidden by fear. Fear that coursed through her body as she forced her frozen hands to push against the bulk that blocked her vision,

"G-get away f-from me!" she cried hoarsely. She would fight, even If when she knew in her efforts she would ultimately lose, she would fight.

His laugh barked loudly as he scrapped a long cold finger down her cheek as with little effort he grabbed her around her shoulder roughly, hurting her,

"Now, now…" he tsked, smiling slowly like a cat who had a mouse between its claws for that is what she was to him…a small insignificant mouse about to meet its fate, "be careful my dear Miss Swan, that's not the way to speak to your master…is it?"

She blinked back tears threatening to spill, for that only encouraged his roughness and need for dominance, "N-no." was all she could say, her weak surrender. Satisfied with her answer, and with a moan of approval as he breathed in slowly, capturing her fear and storing it to memory, his dark eyes told her that this was the greatest thrill for him,

"Now, why did you run away my sweet captive, have I not told you how boring this has become?"

The cold was biting into her as she was pulled against him as his breath fanned her face, her stomach heaved as she tried unsuccessfully to pull herself away,

"L-let go of me!" she gritted between her teeth, remembering too late about her swollen lip as it cracked and she felt blood ooze out of it. This sent her spiralling into panic once more, as she licked it before there could be any trace…any sense of…

He groaned deeply in his throat as his eyes grew blacker, any traces of crimson where gone to be replaced by midnight…soulless and empty,

"Mmmm….you smell so good, too tempting..." he inhaled once more, filling his lungs up with her fragrance, her potent blood, her essence, "Mistress will be displeased if I bring you back drained and I am not one to go punished for your stupid efforts of escape."

She tried fighting against him as he hauled her up onto her feet, no longer caring if the cold ate away at her, all she wanted was to leave this place, leave this nightmare once and for all…

'Please….you promised me…you promised me…'

All her efforts had led to this point. Everything she had ever known or experienced, she would carry with her to the next life. Her heart would no longer feel what it was like to be awakened and become alive with yearning and want. This she would accept now, for all her praying had gone unanswered, all her beliefs had gone unheard…she had lost…

The pendant in her hand felt warm and she welcomed it now. Even though she knew it was her foolish mind playing tricks on her as she stared up into the face of the monster that had captured her, "then you'd better kill me now, for I won't go without a fight."

His sneer she ingrained into her mind, she would carry it with her into the bowls of hell for that was surely were it belonged.

"You make it too easy my warm inviting fool, too easy…" his whisper was meant to caress her into submitting, but all it did was send a shard of fear up her spine as his cold menacing fingers nipped harshly into her skin, pinning her to him as he groaned against the skin of her cheek, "too delectable, Mistress will be angry, very angry but you smell so good…"

Closing her eyes, once more she offered up a silent plea into the night sky and the flurries of snow gathered momentum around her, like a veil of lace it cocooned her in its frosty embrace,

"Goodbye…" she shuddered as with one last breath, Bella Swan offered her neck and closed her eyes to the awaiting pain. Her hand that had been holding reverently the pendant became increasingly hot but she took no notice of it. It was too late now; she had fought and lost the fight,

'I'm sorry, I failed…'

She was overcome with the heat that began licking around her, starting from her frozen toes and working its way upwards, snaking around her body and enveloping her in its heat. The familiar tug of her solar plexus was drowned out, as she felt the piercing of her flesh; her cries were almost like a gargle of desperation clawing along her throat.

All at once, she slipped into darkness…


	2. Chapter 2

The dark side of the moon …Trapped…

_Ireland, 1855_

Hidden behind these stone walls, surrounded by the vestiges of wealth and exuberance, while others beg and plead on the streets for anything that will feed their families, Bella feels trapped in the ties that bind her to this place they have falling into.

They had survived the five weeks passage from America to Ireland mainly with thanks to Lord Barrington, who was a dear friend to Charles Swan, who had secured his family's safety upon the arduous journey. Isabella had been transported into a world where civil unrest and famine had all but destroyed this emerald land that was to be her home. The climate was to her dismay just as the one she had left behind in Washington. Rain seemed to fall continuously with small gaps in the cloud were the sun would come out briefly to tease and torment, before hiding once more behind another deluge of water. Upon arriving at Wideacre Hall, her mother Renee had taken to her bed consumed with a weakness that had robbed her of her legs for almost two weeks. In those weeks Isabella or Bella as she preferred being called, wandered the rooms of the vast house she was now told would be their home while her father went into the city to work as Chief of Police. His reputation in Washington of being tough had not gone unnoticed by Lord Barrington which is why after a game of poker and too much liquor, her father had agreed to transport his family and their entire worldly possessions to Dublin, to begin a new life.

Bella assumed he was not told of the unrest that had raped this country, nor the potato blight that had ravaged its lands. With families forced out of their homes because they could not afford to keep them, having to endure living in squalor conditions…Bella closed her eyes at the unfortunates she watched from their carriage as it roamed the countryside to their new dwelling – saw the hunger and the indignity on the faces of small children having to live in destitute conditions. Thankfully her mother shared her concerns and often voiced them to her husband, but at seventeen years old Bella was not in a position to do much about it. The servants they had acquired with Wideacre where just thankful to be in service, even for the meagre pay they got at the end of the week, Bella often found herself slipping them some bread and cheese that was apparently in abundance in the cellars. Salted ham was also a firm favourite to eat, whilst beef was a luxury very few could afford to purchase never mind have it centre of their table at mealtimes.

Potatoes unfortunately were the stable diet in Ireland, but due to the blight and consequent famine that had destroyed and killed so many poor souls, they were no longer present at dinner tables. Hence the abundance of bread, cheeses and fruit that became a substitute, yet something very few could afford. She had become sickened pretty early on in the clearly defined line between the rich and the poor, had seen for herself with her chaperone Siobhan, the appointed lady in waiting to both Renee and herself when they travelled to functions in the city, how desperate things had become. Her heart broke in two when she thought about it long into the night when the house was thankfully asleep. While others rested in their made up beds of sheets that were imported from various parts of the world, as ships brought a plethora of silks and satins, pewter and gold, those who could not afford such extravagance lived outside lived like…

She had shuddered so many times at the thought, cried too many times about the injustice in this world and prayed she would help wherever she could the family who were taking care of them, the O'Donnell's, would not go hungry. And if it meant she took everything out of the house that they had no need of – as god is her witness then she would do it.

Which is why they were not harmed by the masked 'freedom fighters', sworn to take back the land that had been stolen from their people by those who had 'invaded' and took over. Thanks to Siobhan's father Patrick, who acted as Butler and man servant to Charles (Charlie) they were not touched. Even though the home they were currently living in had belonged to one of Ireland's prestigious family's – the Cullen's, because of Bella's caring attitude towards them and being from America they were left untouched while other large stately homes were one by one eventually burned to the ground and their occupants cast out onto the streets to live amongst those they had 'stolen' the lands from.

Immigration was evident wherever you went. Evacuation of Irish families destined to make the arduous journey across the ocean to Australia and American, meant more control on the streets, leading to unrest and fighting as her father began spending more time at the Headquarters trying to control the situation that was getting out of hand fast. The ships that came into the harbour where not like the one her family had travelled across, passage upon those ships meant cramped conditions with little or no bedding never mind something to sleep upon. A cabin Bella and her parents had shared was non-existent. Instead those hoping to travel to the new world that would offer then some hope with very little money and everything they owned on their backs had to live like cattle, pushed together for the six week journey.

Bella believed there was little if not any hope many would survive the journey…little known to her at the time, she was right.

So instead she mourned with the O'Donnell's as they bade farewell to friends and relations who had decided that the travelling would be worth it, as they packed up what they had gathered their children around them and made their journey to the dock. Boarded the boats and set sail…

Putting everything down in a journal meant Bella could keep track of all that had happened to her since coming to Ireland. Each night after dinner, she would light her gas lamp by the window and take out the leather bond book her parents had purchased for her upon her seventeenth birthday and began the entry, retelling all that had happened to her, all that she had seen. In some ways it offered her a measure of understanding, of what had happened since they moved to there and how she had felt compelled to do something other than sit around being waited upon by those whom she believed where exactly the same as she, no station upon life could make her less than Siobhan for she had worked diligently for her family without quarrel. Her red hair and sharp tongue were always a joy and had helped break the ice between Bella and her family – a friendship that Bella had held dearly.

It was upon yet another wet afternoon that she decided to approach Siobhan about the family that had once lived at Wideacre, after accidently stumbling upon a key that unlocked the door to the master library, a room her father had no need off as he had made one of the drawing rooms into a make shift study for his work. The room was vast with wall to wall bookcases filled completely with books. Old volumes and first editions caught Bella's eye as she wandered around touching the binders reverently, feeling as if she had stumbled across some prized treasure, her love for books was finally satisfied as she had to leave most of her own behind in Washington.

As Siobhan sat with her needlework, something she had attempted to teach Bella with minimal success. The coarse linen was stretched tight against its frame as the young woman applied with deft fingers the stitching from the needle, creating a pattern called a 'lovers knot' Bella looked up from the book she had been reading and glanced out across the acres of green that surrounding the house lovingly. A house that she felt strangely uneasy in, especially at night as the wind and rain that never seemed to cease, thoughts had begun to turn towards its original owners,

"Tell me about the Cullen's?" Bella had begun absently, as she turned her face towards her friend and noticed a slight shake in the young woman's hand and she pushed the red thread through the holes in the cloth. Siobhan was ten years older than Bella, considered a spinster since she had yet to have taken a husband, a condition Bella found profoundly tiresome as there was a keen need to have her married off before she was twenty by her own parents, suggesting holding parties at their grand home so that she could meet suitable suitors.

Siobhan set the needlework down carefully before lifting her green eyes up in the direction of Bella before answering, "What do you want to know about them?"

Bella saw this as encouragement as she closed the book and set it beside her on the chair, her brown eyes dancing with enthusiasm, "Did you know them?"

It took a few strained moments before Siobhan answered again, taking time to think carefully before answering, "I didn't, but my pa did. They didn't mingle very much."

"Why?" Bella asked, feeling apprehensive as Siobhan frowned looking everywhere but where she was sitting,

"Because they didn't seem normal." She finally replied in a whisper, "no one came near them."

Bella digested this statement, deciding it was too sinister to not ask a bit more, "What do you mean by they weren't 'normal'?"

Siobhan looked uncomfortable as she traced the stitching with her index finger, pulling on her bottom lip before answering, "I can't be sure Miss Bella, all I know is that they didn't socialise with the local people and always seemed to be together all the time when they did go out, which wasn't that often."

Bella found this incredulous, just because a family chose to remain in their own company did not warrant rumours to spread because of this, "And this was reason to call them not normal?" she laughed a little shrilly as she got up from her position by the window and placed the book she had been reading back on its shelf accidently grazing her fingers against a thicker book beside it, causing a surge of pain up through her finger, as she lurched away from it puzzled,

"It's not that miss," Siobhan argued, not noticing Bella's discomfort as she held her finger in her other hand, "Its other things that happened whilst they were here."

Bella turned around, suddenly intrigued by what Siobhan had said, "What things?" when her friend didn't offer up anything more, Bella forgot about her finger, gathering her skirt she came and sat down on the foot stool by Siobhan with pleading eyes, "tell me, for I know you're hiding something from me."

Siobhan shook her head, "It's not mine to tell Miss Bella." When Bella opened her mouth to argue the young woman continued, "Da says we are never to speak about them, never for it will surely bring bad luck upon us."

Bella sat back, shocked at the ghost of fear that was now present on Siobhan's face. With eyes as wide as the moon her friend fiddled with a thread that had worn loose from the sleeve of her dress,

"What happened here?" Worry had slipped itself into Bella's voice that held a tremor of fear as she spoke, "You have the right to tell me if my family are in any danger living here Siobhan?"

She took her time answering and when she did, Bella noticed Siobhan looked as if she has seen a ghost as her eyes never left the fire burning low in the grate, the only sound present was the ticking of the clock above the mantel, "It was said they walked amongst the dead, that they didn't go out in the sunlight." She swallowed before continuing, feeding Bella her confession bit by bit,

"That if anyone looked upon their stone faces that they would surely be dead by the 'morrow."

Bella felt confused by what Siobhan was trying to tell her, her brows furrowed with concentration as she listened to what was being said, "I don't understand. What do you mean about their stone faces and people being dead…?"

"People called them the nightwalkers, the walked the streets at night looking for unsuspecting souls to drain of their life." Siobhan's eyes were huge as she glanced around her, as if waiting for something bad to happen. Making the sign of the cross several times and whispering a rushed prayer, the young girl gave Bella a terrified look as she finally announced, "Bodies had been found with nothing left in them…no blood was found except for a wound to their neck.

"A wound as if they had been bitten…"

Bella lay awake that night, once more the wind and rain never ceased its constant punishment as the moon hid itself behind the clouds, casting her room into a darkness she found disturbing. Turning the gas on the lamp beside her, she threw the covers of her legs and sat up. Sleep was not going to be easy tonight, not with a mind that was overrun with questions.

The story that Siobhan had told her, although pretty fantastical in its content had disturbed Bella in a way she didn't like one bit. Of course it couldn't be true. This was the makings of a story made up to discredit the Cullen family who chose to remain distant from the people that lived around them in the small town of Drogheda. A story so fundamentally strange, a ghost story for those who they wanted to scare, to frighten away from the home she was now living in. A home that had been unoccupied for seven years until they were offered it with the condition her father leave his job in America and take his family to Ireland to live instead. Taking the lamp as she slipped on the dressing gown that covered her nightgown she was wearing, and checking to make sure the hallway was clear and the door to her parent's bedroom was closed, Bella slipped down stairs quietly and made her way towards the library. Ever since she had felt the jolt of pain through her hand when she put the book back she had been reading earlier in the evening, the curiosity of it had purposely kept her awake. That and of course Siobhan's story.

She had so desperately wanted to ask her friend's father about the rumours of the Cullen's and why they had to leave, something Siobhan was unclear of as they apparently disappeared in the middle of the night and no one knew they had gone until almost a year had passed. But unfortunately he had been out hunting and had not returned until late on in the evening and by then, Bella had been too tired after supper and decided to go to bed to sleep…

A sleep that had refused to come

Taking the key out from the pocket of her dressing gown, Bella slipped the key into the lock and turned.

With the curtains drawn and no natural light was cast into the room, the heavy drapes cocooned the room in darkness as she placed her lamp on the desk that was pushed up against the far side, casting its glow and created shadows that danced along the volumes of leather in the bookcases. The fire had long since been extinguished with fresh timbre already set to be lit the very next day. Despite it being in the middle of May, the stone walls did nothing to keep any kind of heat and fires in all the rooms were somewhat of a necessity. There was no chill but she couldn't help but shivering at the prospect of being in the place where Siobhan had spoken about nightwalkers and blood draining. She was no novice to listening to ghost stories, having read many books that spoke of spirits that roamed around after midnight. Witches and spells being cast were always a source of humour and entertainment therefore not to be taken seriously. Unfortunately superstition always held stories such as that to this world, and none were more superstitious than the Irish with their tales of 'soul takers' and 'Banshees' that came to steal your soul if you did any wrong. Bella smiled at the irony of such superstitious legends. Witches with white hair combing it with a silver comb, their wails could be heard in the deep of the night, like a baby crying for its mother. If you were to look at the banshee in the eyes and find yourself guilty of whatever crime you had committed, they would surely strike you dead with its comb. Shivering and scolding herself inwardly for doing so, Bella wrapped her gown around her tighter and made her way towards the bookcase. Locating the book she had been reading, Bella stroked its binder lovingly as her eyes fell upon the book beside it.

Licking her lips nervously her faced creased with worry and trepidation, Bella slowly and carefully ran her the tip of the same finger gingerly along the edge – nothing. Feeling a little bolder she then placed her finger squarely along the bind of the book, still nothing. Puzzled Bella then decided to touch the book with all of her fingers to make sure it hadn't been her imagination after all, only to feel her hand grow suddenly warm.

Taking a step back, she removed her hand from the thick volume with the rather odd title of 'Moonacre', only to find herself become fascinated in creating the feeling that had tingled up her hand once more. Straightening her shoulders, Bella lifted her hand and purposely removed the book from its snug position sensing the warmth once again and brought it over to the desk where the lamp was sitting and place it on the surface. As soon as she removed her hand the heat that had travelled up her arm was extinguished, like someone had poured cold water upon it.

"What on earth?"

Growing increasingly suspicious of why this was happening, Bella reached across and lifted the ornate silver letter opener, poking the book with it before rolling her eyes and chastising herself for being such an imaginative fool, she lifted the hard cover of the book and flipped it open. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Deciding the inner first page with its title and author 'Reverend Eugene Cullen' looked relatively normal, with the exception of the name Cullen, that seemed to strike a chord of discomfort in her findings, Bella flipped the next page to the table of contents. Once more nothing seemed out of sorts, and she was beginning to regrettably think this was all to do with pent up superstition and left over thoughts, following Siobhan's slightly somewhat loose threaded ghost story she began to close the book with her hand, having discarded the letter opener when nothing had happened when the pain and heat shot up her arm once more. The shock of making contact forced Bella sit down quickly in the chair and stare at the book in bewilderment,

"Curious?"

Part of her screamed a warning inside her head that was too deafening to ignore, the other part of her, that strange disposition of needing to know why this was happening was forcing her hand again to place itself upon the leather binding, to trace a path along its gold lettering, repeating the word as she did,

"Moonacre"

Her brows furrowed as she recited the word, whispering it against the wind outside and the stillness of the room. Two things happened simultaneously at once. Firstly, the room grew chilled, as if a window had been left open somewhere and extinguished her lamp with a gust that coated her with its shivering breath. Secondly, the book seemed to take on a life of its own as if by magic the closed volume opened to the middle of the book and stopped.

She hadn't realised her heart had been hammering in her chest, nor believe she had been holding her breath but when the wind stopped in the room throwing it into darkness, the volume before her opened to reveal it's secret – Bella suddenly gasped as if she had been under water far too long.

In the centre of the book, between the middle pages that held the script of the story, nestled in a cut out section where several pages would have been was a gold filigree chain wrapped around a white stone.

When she finally stopped shaking and was confident nothing else was going to happen, Bella gingerly touched the mysterious necklace that had been trapped within the book, as if somehow it had been put there purposely to be found but why? This time not only did she feel the tingle of heat as it passed up her fingertips, she also saw the stone glow yellow, as if a light had been shown behind it. Curiously she leaned in closer for a better inspection. As her finger traced the delicate pattern around the claw the stone pendant was suspended from, its intricate pattern was etched with what looked like silver lettering. Through the large embellished loop the chain was threaded, heavy enough to carry such a large impressive stone but delicate enough so it didn't appear obtuse and gaudy. Finding her inner strength and forgetting about the warm pain the kept shooting up her arm like a magnetic current, Bella gently lifted the necklace out of its hidden place and held it up in front of her, only remembering the lamp that she had brought down with her was put out. Cursing to herself, Bella lifted her hand to the lamp in an attempt to try and ignite the burner with the gas when the stone glowed once more.

Its light seemed to glow faintly at first, before getting brighter with each pulse as it seared warmth through the palm of her hand. She was too frightened to put it down, too transfixed in its hypnotic glow and too curious to place it back where she found it. As the stone grew brighter a strange feeling began slowly rising up from her toes, around her legs and towards her stomach it snaked. With a shiver of fear that bled behind her eyes, Bella decided quickly to drop the chain with its glowing source of light which seemed to burn brighter by seconds. Her stomach erupted into a searing shard of pain as she felt every last breath she had in her lungs blast forward as if she had been punched in the stomach. A jolt so powerful her fingers curled in on themselves as she opened her mouth to cry out…but no sound came. As her fingers clenched tightly so did she press the glowing stone into her palm searing it against her skin. A feeling of being suspended rushed through her as she tried to open her eyes she had forced shut when the heat had travelled up her body.

A rush so violent had shaken her. The giddiness of flight had made her blood soar in her ears. The feeling of being suspended had robbed her legs of grounding her to the room…

Bella Swan was not in Wideacre Hall anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

The dark side of the moon…Dreamland…

The earth beneath her face felt damp, moist as its rough texture did little to serve as any kind of pillow. Her eyes refused to open, sensing light flickering in front - threatening to get behind her lids and pull open from within, she moaned sharply for the light to go away.

Smells invaded her senses all at once, wood mixed with grass and a heady fragrance that tickled her nostrils and forced air into her lungs as she tried to breathe. Where was the musky scent of leather, mahogany, beeswax and cigar smoke? She fought with her inner self, wanting to remove herself from the discomfort but at the same time wallow in the dream she was having, just for a little while longer.

"She's got a pulse and its racing, I believe she's coming to," a light musical voice tempted her out of the darkness that had folded in on her,

"Where did she come from?" a deeper more velvet voice spoke next. Curiosity laced the male's question, causing her to frown at his clipped manner,

"I have no idea," the musical female voice replied, which now held a sense of humour in it, "you didn't happen to bring someone home last night and forget to tuck her up in bed Edward?"

"You're sense of humour falls fowl first thing in the morning Alice," the male voice reprimanded now carrying the name of Edward, while the female appeared to be called Alice. Strange how voices in her dream had become so real, as if they were having a conversation about her but not directly involving her in it.

"Well, whoever she is, we'd better get her inside before she catches a cold," Alice voice continued in a worried tone that came across as Bella allowed the dream to take shape. Unfortunately no faces came with the narration in her dream, which was a pity, considering the male voice held piqued interest with its velvet undertone and richness, soft yet coaxing her awake,

"Do you really think that's wise, it could be someone playing a childish prank," Edward voice scolded, seemingly he had become bored with playing the Good Samaritan and wanted nothing more to do with it.

"Be reasonable Edward," began the Alice voice, "why would anyone want to put a young female out in the middle of the road in broad daylight, in nothing but a…incredibly antique nightdress for the whole world to see?"

She heard a sigh and presumed in her now restless dream that it was Edward who was not in agreement with Alice, "I think you'll find you're being a little melodramatic Alice. First it's not in the middle of the road, it's on the driveway and second…"

"Oh Edward shut up and help me get her roused, her lips are turning blue." The impatient Alice voice interrupted the Edward voice from continuing, "You can grumble later once we get her into the warmth, Carlisle will want to look over her."

Bella was perplexed about the argument. What did they mean about being out in the middle of the road for the world to see? Why were they speaking strangely, referring to her as the third person, and why were they worried her lips were turning blue? Her mind tried to recollect what had last happened. She had been in the library with the book Moonacre sitting on the desk, the glowing stone necklace in her hand as it burnt a path of warmth through her body. The feeling of weightlessness as her stomach lurched forward as if she had been pulled back too quickly and punched too hard all at once…

The air was cool around her; the rough texture against her skin was not like any pillow she had ever slept upon. She felt a breeze gently nipping at her legs and feet, sending uncontrollable shivers through her body as it cooled it down considerably. And voices none like she had heard before were having a disagreement about childish pranks and being left outside…

The pendant, the strange glowing stone

Her hand closed tightly as her eyes fluttered in an attempt to open as she remembered the stone in her hand, the one that had somehow caused this rather colourful yet confusing dream she was experiencing. The jagged edges of the gem cut into her palm, allowing her a sense of relief as she realised it was still there, yet held no warmth to it anymore,

"She's wakening up," the excited Alice voice exclaimed, as both sense and smell came together and Bella let out a deep sigh as she attempted to focus above her head.

The shock at first was palpable. No ceiling of curtain blocked her view as she gazed up, instead a turbulence of cloud and green leaved branches suspended over her head instead. The hard pillow that had disturbed her in her dream-like state had been the ground on which she still lay now. Confused senses blended into curious senses which erupted into frightened emotions as she began slowly realising she was not at home lying in her room, upon her bed after reliving a very vivid dream,

"Oh my g-god." Her cracked voice rushed forward into a harsh whisper as she shot up into a sitting position and stared straight into a pair of honey coloured eyes, surrounded by jet black lashes and a beguiling smile,

"Hello, I'm Alice." The smile spoke and she recognised immediately that this was indeed the Alice voice. Swallowing thickly her fear that had crawled all the way up from her stomach to her throat, Bella looked around her worriedly as she began to take in her surroundings. It had not been a dream; she was sitting in the middle of a short forecourt that lead up to a modest yet strange shaped building, with large glass windows and dark wooden outer walls with long slashes of both timbre and what appeared to look very much like metal surrounding it. It was while she was taking in her surroundings that her eyes fell upon him – the Edward voice. He had been standing directly behind the one she now knew as Alice, who was in front of her blocking out pretty much anything else.

As if sensing Bella was looking at him, Alice spoke without turning around, "you can at least introduce yourself. Goodness knows you're frightening enough as it is." A grin of merriment was suppressed into the young woman's lips as Bella sensed a teasing tone in her voice as she spoke but it did little to remove Bella's eyes from his face. He seemed tall and lean, with a face that was like looking at a painting of a god as it stood in mock reflection. Strong square jaw held taunt with discomfort, lips that were full with the upper lip shaped like a bow were pressed into a thin line. A straight nose that gave a balance of symmetry to his face with skin so pale, he looked as if an illness had befallen him. If the girl called Alice had eyes that reminded Bella of honey, then Edward's looked as if they were molten lava pouring over dark rocks, with long lashes setting his eyes off, making them appear almost as if they were glowing at her. Straight eyebrows sat across those strange glowing eyes only to be finished by a shock of what looked like bronze coloured hair, ruffled, messy as if a comb or brush had never been near it.

He remained were he stood, just behind Alice his hands pushed into the front of his pants that looked as if they were made of some kind of rough looking material.

"Hello…I'm Edward."

His mouth twisted in a smile but did not reach his eyes; obviously he wasn't too keen in her being there, wherever there was? Bella glanced around her once more, tucking her gown around her firmly as she slipped the pendant into one of the pockets. Her strangers seemed to eye her with the same curiosity as she was doing them as they appeared to be dressed in clothing that looked unusually out of place…

"My name is B-Bella Swan, w-where am I?"

Alice looked up at the man called Edward and seemed to have a silent conversation with him as he shook his head a few times, even going so far as to roll his eyes as he kicked a stone lying on the path with his booted foot. Sighing, Alice turned back around, offering Bella and apologetic smile,

"You just so happen to be sitting in the middle of our driveway, maybe you can tell us how you got here?" she asked as Bella frowned, puzzled by this explanation,

"Driveway…impossible" she spoke to herself, her eyes glanced around taking in the large trees and cloudy sky that seemed to be threatening rain overhead. The slight breeze sent a chill through her but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"What's impossible?" Alice asked her eyes softening as she laid tentatively a hand on Bella's arm. The cold air held no contrast to the coolness of the girl's skin as it touched Bella's, making her recoil slightly from the light touch. Licking her lips and feigning off tremors that began running through her body, she gave Alice a pleading look, "I was in the library, it was night time and I couldn't sleep so I went to get a book…"

Alice's face became stoic as she turned towards the man behind her again. Whatever she was 'not' saying seemed to communicate with him as he looked up and stared directly at Bella again, with one eyebrow arched as his lips pressed into a tight line he shook his head once more as if to indicate the word 'no'

"What else can you remember?" Alice asked, seemingly unperturbed by whatever had wordlessly been exchanged between them, as she gave Bella a reassuring smile. Her honey eyes glowed with sympathy as she watched for any indication of discomfort on Bella's part. This gave Bella the opportunity to try and think clearly as she began reciting what had taken place, leaving out the pendant and how it glowed brightly before strange things began happening. Alice seemed to be listening carefully while Edward looked down the path leading onto the road bored until she mentioned the name of the book she had been looking at,

"What did you say?"

Alice closed her eyes and looked as If she was supressing the urge to speak as Bella guarding her emotions glanced up at Edward where he had remained standing, like a statue, "T-the book was called Moonacre, the author was called Rev…" she began before being cut off,

"And where is this book you found?" his clipped tone unsettled Bella as she looked at Alice worriedly, who nodded and encouraged her to continue, "It's in Wideacre Hall…it's…"

Her brows furrowed as she felt uneasy. Her last recollection was sitting in the library in a place she had called home since arriving there and now she was sitting in the middle of a strange place, with even stranger people asking her questions.

"Please," she whispered, helplessly lost and confused, "it's been a really strange…experience."

Alice seemed to understand as she stood and dusted down her clothing that seemed to match Edward's – black blouse with the same coloured pants, something Bella had found profoundly strange for a woman to be wearing such garments. Pants were usually reserved for riding the horse, yet she saw none tethered nearby,

"Of course it is," she began as her hand snapped out for Bella to take, "But right now we need to get you into the house you've been sitting outside long enough and the last thing you need is a cold on top of everything else." Stopping, she turned towards Edward who still remained where he stood, "You'd better contact Carlisle at once," Edward seemed annoyed at this as he shook his head wearily, "And what good is that going to do Alice?"

It was only when Bella stood up did she notice just how tall he was. Alice standing beside him put the young man at least six foot, possibly over as the dark spiky haired girl was only slightly smaller than Bella in height. Yet he towered over both of them making him look dangerous, unfortunately Alice didn't appear to see it that way,

"Because Edward, he will want to know about this," Alice began, as she glanced towards Bella and back to him again, "it will be _very_ important to him."

Bella watched the two of them with growing concern. So far she had explained why she was found lying on a path that led to what looked like their home but no one had tried to explain to her why this had happened to her, or why.

"Excuse me?" she began, catching their attention as they both looked at her, fumbling with her gown that she haste to fasten around her when she stood up, "Is anyone going to tell me what's going on. I seem to have been sitting one minute alone in my home and in the next moment, here in this…" looking around her she gnawed on her lower lip, "place"

Alice glanced at Edward before turning her attention to Bella, offering her up a tight smile as she put a cool hand on her shoulder, "Whatever has happened we need to let Carlisle know and he will then hopefully help you. The book you found, the one you opened?" Bella nodded for Alice to continue, "It belonged in Carlisle's family somehow you've stumbled across it."

"But it was in the library with other books," Bella argued not understanding what Alice was getting at,

"Of course it was," Interjected, Alice as she ran a smooth cool hand down Bella's arm, "There was only one copy ever made of that book and you happened to stumble across it Bella. You said you live in Wideacre Hall, where is that exactly?"

"Drogheda," replied Bella, "In Ireland."

Edward decided at this time to move from the spot he had been standing since they had found her, his eyes roamed over Bella's appearance from head to toe, as if ingraining her image to his memory, "What year is it?"

"W-what…"

Not put off by Bella's confusion he asked again, "What year is it?"

Bella licked her lips as she replied, "the year of our lord 1855, why?"

She didn't miss the exchange between Alice and Edward as they stared at each other, once again appearing as if they were speaking without words, before Edward turned back to Bella, a crooked smile on his face,

"It appears not only are you not in Ireland anymore, but you are most definitely in the wrong century…Bella."

It was the first time he had spoken her name, soft like a caress and Bella couldn't help but think there was a hint of a teasing tone in his voice,

"I…" casting a glance at Alice who also looked concerned, her brows furrowed in concentration as if she was looking at something with keen interest, "I don't understand. If I'm not in Ireland then where am I what year is it?"

It was Edward who spoke again this time, feigning a sense of annoyance as he gave her a cold hard stare, narrowing his molten coloured eyes at Bella, "You're in Forks, Washington and the year is two thousand and ten. You might singularly be the only person in existence who has jumped one hundred and fifty-five years into the future."

Whatever happened next, Bella was not aware of. Hearing what Edward had said was the last thing she remembered before her legs gave out from underneath her, and she was plummeted into darkness once more.


	4. Chapter 4

_The dark side of the moon_

A thread in time…

For what seemed to be the second time since she stumbled across a book that had taunted her into touching it, Bella woke up in a strange bewildering predicament. Her back was pressed into a soft mattress as her eyes stared up at a white ceiling, quietness all around her indicated she was no longer outside but somewhere where foreign scents invaded her nostrils. Heavy bouquets of orange and cherry blossom, the kind you would find in a garden in spring time floated around her as she blinked several times before rising gingerly on her elbows to look around her.

The room appeared to be quite bright, with a large wall of windows to the left of her. The bed she was lying in felt sumptuous underneath, a large gold coverlet was over her with white linen sheets so soft to the touch you would almost believe they were made of silk. Dark and light gold coloured pillows were scattered to one end of the bed, its black and gold decorative flowered metal work twisted and turned into posts, before continuing like a trellis behind her until it reached the headboard. She scanned the room with its wall of books and what appeared to be personal items. A large machine sat in the middle of the bank of square plastic objects all neatly stored together, much like a row of smaller books. A long black lounger was tucked into one corner where a rectangular black picture frame hung on the wall, minus any painting that would have been hung in it. Her mind quickly fast forwarded through the information she was told before blackness had descended and she apparently had passed out, most likely because of the circumstances she now found herself in.

The year was two thousand and ten, she was no longer in Ireland but surprisingly back in Washington, but how, why and for what purpose? Certainly she had heard of many dreams and aspirations to find the clue to unlock space and time travel, but that was frivolous imagination, no one had ever actually done such a thing. She had often over heard her parents talk about scientists looking for a way of being able to fly, to soar into the sky and be as free as the birds that flew close to the heavens, but that had been nothing but fanciful dreaming. Yet she apparently had, according to the tall enigmatic man with bronze coloured hair and bewitching eyes, skipped over … one hundred years and found herself in the … Future?

"This is all just a dream, just a weird dream I am having…"

Pushing her long hair away from her eyes, Bella listened for any sounds of movement around her before she slipped out of the bed and carefully crossed the threshold of the room, its dark parquet flooring felt warm under her bare feet as she scanned the various books and plastic cases for any kind of clue that would solidify what she had been told. Everything seemed so…bright, so different to her senses. Smells, textures, colours all appeared more vivid. White walls of the room brought everything clearly into focus. No heavy brocade curtains hung across the walls, no dark green or reds were splashed upon the walls…no fire crackling lowly in a grate…

Books she smiled as her fingers touched the deep binders with reverence, books never changed. Her much loved dalliance with fiction had always been a source of good humour between herself and her father, who found it ludicrous how she would hold onto even a second hand book from a market that she had picked up for very little. It wasn't the condition of the book but more a case of what the content underneath the worn cover and split spine. Which is why she would it intriguing that some of the volumes neatly pressed in together surprised her somewhat as a few she recognised from the library back in Wideacre…

"Do you see anything that interests you?" a deep male voice she instantly recognised spoke from beside her. Causing Bella to yelp in a very un-ladylike fashion, catching her footing on the rug behind her and would have surely fallen had a pair of very cold hands encircled her arms to prevent this.

The stark contrast of his cool hands, plus the fact he was standing so very close, set Bella's pulse racing throughout her body as her heat jack-hammered loudly in her eyes. terrified she looked up only to clash with his golden hues that were looking down at her, a puzzled expression clouded them briefly, as if he was trying to read her response, a response that was more like a frightened hare than anything else,

"You should be more careful," was his only reply as his voice had dropped to a gruff tone. Immediately he removed his hands once it was safeguarded she wouldn't fall. The loss was instant and uncomfortable as tiny pin-pricks of awareness danced across the surface of her skin, causing a momentary lapse of concentration as she tried to figure out what it had meant. Sensing her silence, Edward seemed to find this uncomfortable as he pushed his hands into the front pockets of the pants he had been wearing when she was so unceremoniously discovered. Before she hadn't taken the liberty to cast her eyes over the strangers, still wrapped up in bewilderment of finding herself outside and in the middle of nowhere she knew, this time Bella was able to take stock of the stranger who had looked decidedly bored, unlike Alice, who didn't seem to mind finding a girl at the bottom of their garden. His dark clothing only seemed to highlight his very pale skin. She mused that having a pale skin was something to do with the climate that a person lived in. She had moved from her home across to Ireland and found the climate there was pretty much like the one she had left, except much colder – the damp air had brought with it a vicissitude of sickness and illnesses that had taken so many young and old. However the pallor of his skin was much paler than her own, he looked almost white, like an angel or a statue destined to be kept in a large viewing area, frozen in time.

Time, she had moved through time…

"How did t-this happen?" her question was out before she could stop it. In fact her brain had suddenly come to life and a million questions rushed through it, each begging for an answer. Her answer was giving by a small smile, bringing the corner up on one side of his mouth, creating a lop-sided smirk,

"How did what happen?" came Edward's reply, he was goading her she was sure of it. The merriment of such a smile did not reach his eyes, and she knew enough of watching the gentlemen her father entertained at Wideacre to know when a man was being unabashedly genuine of being arrogantly polite.

Closing her eyes she quelled the need to get angry, so much was still uncertain and very little she had been told of how she got her, only that the mention of time travel played a huge part in Edward's amusement,

"I need to know how I got here. I don't belong in your…world, I belong in m-mine." She replied, feeling a sense of loneliness in her words. Whatever it was, he sensed it as Edward pushed off from the book case he had been standing beside and moved forward, not too close, but close enough that she could feel his cool breath on her face. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around herself, realising for the first time she was still in her gown and dressing gown, the stone pendant weighed heavily in one pocket,

"Carlisle believes it has something to do with the book you had been reading," Edward replied shrugging his shoulders as he did, his eyes not leaving her face which was growing warmer by the second. There was something about his eyes that thrilled, yet frightened her at the same time. He looked feral, like a lion with the golden depths ever changing, "You didn't happen to bring the book with you when you…ah slipped through time?"

Bella felt the stinging embrace of being mocked and she didn't like it one bit. Standing her ground and raising her chin until she was eye level with him, her reply came across laced with sarcasm unbefitting for a lady, "Sorry, I seemed to have left it in my other gown, maybe next time."

She felt ashamed of speaking in such rude manner, but found it helpless to simply stand and have someone she did not know poke fun at her distress. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't Edward, throwing back his head and laughing. Not an insulting cynical laugh, but a deep rich velvety sound that seemed to sing right down to her toes. His face lit up, the sardonic lift of one eyebrow was gone as his laughter brought with it a youthfulness he must have kept hidden,

"There's the spirit I see behind those warm chocolate depths, I was beginning to think you were as constricting as those dreadful gowns they made you wear back in the day."

Bella was both annoyed and shocked at his merriment to her predicament. She so wanted to stamp her foot down hard on his in indignation for finding humour in her distress, but something about his amusement at the period of life she had come from set off a questioning look in his direction. That and he had called her eyes 'warm chocolate depths' that spiked her pulse rate,

"I suppose you find that having to endure being plucked from my home in the middle of the night and landed here in your century gives you the right to make fun of me?" she asked, seizing the opportunity to appraise him with the same high manner as he did she. From his undershirt in black right down to his lean legs clad in stiff material, right back up to his messy unkempt odd coloured hair and warm honey coloured eyes, he was alarmingly decadent and at the same time, worryingly dangerous.

This seemed to register with him as in a blink of an eye Edward was standing closer than he had previously been, close enough she could see his nostrils flare as if he was inhaling her up or reigning in his temper, for what she wasn't quite sure as his hands fisted at his sides and she prepared herself for the onslaught that was to befall her.

"There you are," the musical question came from Alice as she skipped into the room, eyeing both of them critically as she did so. From Bella's vantage point the girl seemed to be reading Edward's face with curiosity as she looped an arm through Bella's and she immediately felt the cold contrast against her own warm skin, "I was beginning to think you would never awaken, Carlisle would like very much to meet you."

Sensing or at least feeling that there was somehow and inner debate going on between them that Bella was not privy too, she rocked from one foot to the other nervously,

"Um, who is Carlisle again?" her question came out more like a whisper but it was enough to break the trance Alice was in as she turned her head and smiled at Bella, "He's for all intents and purposes are father. Head Cullen if you like and he's _very_ curious as to how someone from the eighteen hundreds and landed here right smack into the twenty-first century."

"This isn't a good idea Alice." Edward warned her, but Alice apparently wasn't taking any notice of his warning that held a tinge of a threat behind it, "This isn't your call to make Edward" she smiled sharply at him before turning both herself and Bella around in preparation to leave throwing over her shoulder as she did and directing her statement to Bella, "Don't mind my brother, I think I made his pants a bit too tight." Her tinkling laugh made Bella smile; she felt an instant liking to the strange pixie like girl as they both descended the stairs to the floor below. Bella couldn't help glancing towards Edward as they did, noticing he had remained where they had left him, as if rooted to the spot.

As she came to the bottom of the stairs, Bella could hear murmuring of several voices at once. As Alice gave her a reassuring smile they walked into a room and the stark contrast of her surroundings hit her all at once. A thousand varied memories assaulted her senses; dark rooms with mahogany and brocade were replaced by wide walls and windows, offering a bright source of light that she found hard adjusting to. She gripped Alice's hand tightly as she gazed around her terrified of what she had stepped into. White walls, large settees of the same colour where situated facing each other around a low table of glass with cut flowers spilling out of a white vase in the centre. Standing around in a line of wonder and curiosity as they stared back at her smiling as Alice practically skipped, and pulled Bella along with her for introduction,

"Bella, this is my family. The large bear like man is my brother Emmett."

The large dark haired man grinning impishly at her, his shoulders were wide enough to block the door he was leaning against. His frame unlike Edward's lean one was in proportion to the width of his body, making him look decidedly dangerous, had he not been smiling like a Cheshire cat, "So this is our very own time traveller?"

Bella blushed as Alice laughed beside her. If Bella's fingers tightly grasping Alice's was hurting her, she didn't seem to mind as with professional authority, the girl affectively and proudly rhymed of the other people standing in stillness waiting to be introduced. A woman with long lustrous blond hair, high cheek bones and pale skin much like Alice, Edward and the man she called Emmett was introduced next as Rosalie Hale. She nodded her head stiffly but made no formal announcement of being intrigued or happy to see her, as she folded her arms across her chest and held her head high in a haughty manner towards her. Bella sensed and instant dislike towards her and feigned a sigh in lost desperation knowing that this was the second person to hold her in such low esteem. The first being the man they had left in the room upstairs.

The next person was a woman called Esme, who had a warm smile and gentle appearance as she gave Bella much to her surprise a tight hug. Having got used to Alice's cool hand gripped in her warm one, Bella had somehow got used to the strangely cold temperatures of the strangers she was being introduced to. In fact it didn't strike her now as odd that their skin was incredibly pale, as if they had locked themselves away from direct sunlight. Or that their eyes appeared to be the same hypnotising colour of molten lava or warm honey drizzled over soft bread, with the exception of Edward's whose appeared to be a striking contrast of both.

"This is Jasper Hale," Alice continued as she smiled adoringly up at the one she was introducing next. He had pale blonde hair hung around his face, wide impressionable eyes and coquettish charm made Bella feel at ease as she smiled nervously at him. She sensed immediately that both Alice and Jasper were familiar with each other, as Jasper grinned affectionately down at Alice and kissed the tip of her nose, releasing a giggle from her as she rubbed hers back in return. It was a gentle moment, a private moment and Bella felt somehow intrusive to have been part in it.

"And finally," Alice finished with a flourish as she arched her free arm out in the direction of a man who was standing just behind Esme, his hand placed firmly on her shoulder, "Is the head of this household Bella. I'd like to introduce you to Dr Carlisle Cullen."

Bella froze. Every sense and thought and pulse seemed to cease beyond movement as she stared at the man she was introduced to. His white blond hair and high cheekbones, gave him an almost feminine quality and his eyes held authority but also reflected a great sadness behind them, as if he had seen too much suffering. His smile was warm, gentle, caring, and compassionate as he gazed upon her face. But it was the stillness which looked almost as if he had been captured in that pose, frozen and transferred onto canvas.

A canvas she has seen in her home, a portrait that hung in the study her father kept all his work in, alongside other members of the 'Cullen' family.

"Impossible"

Bella shook her head, feeling once again light-headed from everything she was forced to take in. Her heart accelerated as she pushed her fingers into her temples quelling the urge to be sick as the blood sickeningly rushed through her ears, making the dizziness too much to take. As she closed her eyes Bella sensed one pair of hands leave her only to be replaced by another stronger, larger more forceful pair as she felt her body being pushed down into something warm to sit on.

"I told you this was a bad mistake." a voice above her commanded. A voice she recognised immediately as that of Edward's.

For the third time since she found herself on the ground in modern day (if that was what it really was) Forks, Washington, in a place not far from where she grew up (in her world) Bella was once again consumed with the feeling that everything was too much for her to take in, never mind finding herself in a room full of total strangers, with seven sets of golden coloured eyes all gazing back at her with morbid fascination. Well six if you didn't count a rather bored Edward who seemed to have suspected she would once again faint after seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar surrounding with the exact same name of the home she had begun living in…only to now find out now that the painting which by her now foggy recollection was dated 1665, so that would have made him at the time twenty-five years old and yet….

Here he now stood before her now in the flesh, after several hundred years not looking a day over the age of the portrait that hung over the wall in the…

She felt the dizziness try to consume her again as a cool glass of water was placed into her hand,

"Here, drink this." The gruff voice beside her spoke as Edward handed Bella a glass of water. Her fingertips accidently brushed against his, causing a jolt of static to pass between them as Bella sucked in her breath and lowered her eyes, as to avoid looking up at him.

Whispered murmurs passed between the family members as Bella took a sip of the cool water, her mind a jumble of unanswered questions, that she couldn't form any kind of coherent explanation for all of this. She had tried several times pinching her arm, which only resulted in her skin hurting with no clear result.

"I know this must be really strange for you right now," Carlisle sat on the opposite settee, his hands clasped in front of him, a sense of calm across his pale features as he smiled compassionately at her, "if you're up to it I need to ask you a few questions?"

Bella set the glass down on the table in front of her, Alice was immediately at her side, she felt the cool temperature of her skin slide beside her own as Edward stood a short distance from where she sat, his hands once more in the front pockets of his dark pants,

"I will try." She answered feebly not exactly knowing what they wanted to know. Esme, his wife came and sat down on Bella's other side making her feel somehow at ease, even though they were strangers, they had taken her into their home, despite her unexpected circumstances. Carlisle smiled once more; he had a soft caring face, one that put you at ease without even trying,

"Can you tell me…Bella how did you come to be here?"

Bella glanced at Alice, who smiled encouragingly back at her as she patted the back of her hand with her own. Out of the corner of her eye, Bella could see Edward watching this exchange with a dark look. He either disliked Alice's close proximity or disliking the already familiar friendship that had stuck up between them,

"Don't mind my brother," Alice said musically as she nudged Bella with her shoulder, giving Edward a pointed look that didn't go unnoticed with the rest of the family standing around, "Suspicion has always been a weakness of his. That and I believe he would much rather prefer to be sitting here than me."

Edward scowled at Alice as he crossed his ankles and leaned back against the wall, "Shut up Alice and stopped being so annoying."

At this Alice laughed, as she blew Edward a kiss. Bella watched the exchange with amusement and concern as Carlisle cleared his throat, turning the conversation back to what was important, how Bella had found herself here in the first place. Taking a deep breath, Bella began explaining to Carlisle and those listening how she came about the book in the library and how it had burned to the touch. How she returned to the room that night and lifted it from the bookshelf and opened it. She paused briefly not sure whether to tell them about the stone that glowed from the chain inside. Instead Bella slipped her hand into the pocket of her gown and removed it, opening her palm as she explained,

"This was in the middle of the book, in a section cut out from its pages."

All eyes turned to the object with audible gasps from Esme and Alice as they stared at the pendant with its clear stone nestled securely in the centre of her palm. Thankfully it didn't start to glow brightly and no source of heat came from it either, as Carlisle leaned forward to take a closer look at it, "Do you mind if I take a look?" he asked, clearly wanting to examine it himself as Bella nodded and slipped the pendant into his hand, feeling bereft of the small object that had brought her here but at the same time relieved that maybe someone could unlock the mystery behind it,

"It began glowing really brightly when I touched it," Bella continued as Carlisle brought the clear stone to the light so he could look it over carefully, "and it was so warm, as if it was on fire…"

"There's an Ouroborosin the centre of it," Carlisle announced, his eyes seemed to light up from within as he excused himself and left the room only to return a few seconds later with a large black book in his hand. Bella turned to Alice worriedly, "What did he mean?" Alice who was staring at Carlisle as he flicked quickly through the pages until he came across what he was looking for, patted Bella's hand with a ghost of a smile, "I think you're about to find out what he means," as Carlisle came to sit on the arm of the settee and handed over the large volume pointing to an picture of what looked like a snake forming a circle with its body as swallowed its tail,

"It's an ancient symbol making the beginning and end of time." Carlisle began his voice sounded excited as he held the pendant in his other hand and right in the centre of the stone was a small snake in a circle and what appeared to be eating its own tail. Bella hadn't seen the symbol when she found it inside the book, she was too frightened of the glow it was emanating from inside to care about anything else,

"What does it mean?" she asked, glancing around the room at the faces all fixed in Carlisle with interest, finding her eyes focusing more on Edward as his brows creased together with what looked like worry as he spoke, "The symbol can be traced back to Ancient Egypt around 1600. A serpent devouring its tail means that mankind is enchanted, mystical forces are present. Christianity then took the symbol and called it Ouroboros, meaning everlasting, eternal. Alchemists began using the symbol in their work. The Ouroboros to them signified infinity, mankind turning on itself and devouring, creating what was known as the Prima Materia. It was a symbol of mankind, of both light and dark…"

He took what appeared to be a breath before continuing as his eyes focused with intensity upon Bella's face, "It's a symbol for immortality,"

"Which is why I find it odd it would be hidden in a book my father wrote," As Carlisle spoke a frown appeared to crease his perfectly smooth forehead, "considering how against he was to the demons that roamed the earth and consumed it from within."

At the word demons, Bella felt a chill run up her spine as she encircled her body with her arms and rubbed absently, it didn't go unnoticed as Carlisle seemed to study the stone more carefully, turning it around with his fingers several times, "this looks like a moon stone, certainly would be appropriate giving what it's housing but as for age…"

"You don't really believe your father would have hidden something like this in a book about Moonacre?" Edward asked, taking the book of Carlisle as he began reading it, "If this had fallen into the wrong hands…"

"What's Moonacre?" Asked Bella, clearly confused with the train the conversation was going. She knew of the books title but had assumed it was a non-fictional piece of work like so many others she had read.

Carlisle and Edward exchanged looks before the older man spoke, clearly uncomfortable with the situation as he held the stone in his perfect hands. The shards of light danced across the facets making it seem as if it had a light source of its own, which of course Bella knew it had, hence she was walking through a bizarre dream and any second now she would awaken,

"Moonacre is the land on which Wideacre Hall was built during the sixteenth century. My ancestors lived there until they moved to London, never to return."

Bella absorbed that piece of information but it still didn't make any sense, "If that's true, that your…family didn't return to the place, then how come there's a painting of you," Bella began, feeling foolish when Alice shifted uneasily beside her, "w-what I mean is or what looks like you in the study, I've seen it myself which is why I began feeling…I mean it was a bit of a shock when I first saw you." she finished suddenly wishing she hadn't as not only did she feel everyone around her thought she was mad. Let's face it she had just been told an incredible story, had also been informed she had somehow slipped through time to end up in the future where women did not wear dresses and corsets. Only now to discover the necklace that had somehow transported her to this place had a strange symbol in the centre of it of a snake devouring its tail and now to add insult to injury claim that the head of the household she was currently sitting in looked exactly like the man in a painting that hung in the study of a home she was up until this point living in during the eighteenth century.

"I don't feel very well…" Bella moaned softly as she buried her face in her hands, her stomach growling in protest from hunger. It was Esme who patted her shoulder, encouraging Bella to look up as she smiled, "Try not to worry, it's all been a bit too much for you to take in right now." Her smile was warm and genuine as she continued, "Why don't I fix you something to eat, you must be hungry."

That was true, she did feel weak from hunger but her mind was still confused with no clue as to what to do next, "I just want to go home." Bella offered up weakly as Esme rubbed her back in light strokes, reminding her of how her mother would do that when she got stressed, "If anyone can work this out then Carlisle will try and find a way."

"And what if he doesn't?" Edward's question hung in the air as Emmett punched him on the arm and Rosalie made a noise as she sat down opposite Bella, her gaze fixed upon the pendant still sitting in Carlisle's hand, "If what you're saying is true and this is some kind of time machine device," her voice was softer than Alice's but with more of an edge to it, "then if it can go forward, then maybe it can go back as well?"

Carlisle nodded as he looked around the people standing and sitting, his face pinched in thought, "I would be possible but I would need to do some research into this. Of course the book would have been handy, considering it was about Moonacre. I'll need to find out if there were any other copies made."

"In the meantime," he declared as he stood up and handed Bella the necklace as he smiled, "You should hold onto this. Whatever it means it's connected to you so it would be best to keep it close by." Bella took the necklace and slipped it around her neck as Alice helped with the catch, her cold hands feeling like an ice breeze upon her skin. Satisfied Carlisle nodded, "I will make some enquiries into the book, meanwhile please feel at home Bella. if I can find a way to get you back to your world I will, that's a promise."

Bella felt relieved that at least the people around her didn't think she had gone mad, even though she had no clue as to what it all meant. Moonacre the land that her home was built upon was a puzzle. What was it with the land and what did it all mean? Did it have some magical force that held it there? Impossible although not far from the kind of stories she had often heard growing up. Of demons that roamed the earth doing the devil's bidding, where always a fame favourite for those who blasphemed the name of the lord, suggesting there were creatures who snatched children from their beds, sucked the soul out of poor unsuspecting folk and drained the blood of anything that had a pulse. But they were just stories, none of it actually existed.

Did it?

Esme had made good on her promise and had lain on a table fit for a king or roast chicken, hams and bread far more than Bella could ever eat. As she tucked into her food and drank ice cold milk which was definitely a revelation, Alice had flitted around her with various clothing that she insisted Bella should try and slip into. The whole time Bella was very aware of Edward's presence, not quite in the conversation that was going on around her but not staying too far away from it either.

By the time it had begun to turn dark, Bella had been offered one of the many spare rooms in the vast open spaced home that the Cullen's lived in. Carlisle had to go to the hospital where he worked, apparently a skilful practitioner and one that the people of Forks highly relied on. Emmett and Rosalie had gone out somewhere and wouldn't be back to much later, Alice had retired to her room along with Jasper, it appeared that both Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper where married and still lived at home with Esme and Carlisle…

Edward was playing the grand piano in another room. The soothing music that drifted up the stairs and into her room, allowed Bella a measure of comfort in knowing that some things from her time had not been lost and had remained unaffected and timeless. Looking up at the ceiling she tried to think back through all that had happened since her extraordinary appearance at this house. Her heart pinched in her chest when she thought of Charlie and Renee, would they be beside themselves with worry knowing their daughter had disappeared without a trace or knowledge as to where to look for her. Would Siobhan find the book and put it back in the shelf without giving it a second glance. Would she worry so when she could no longer find Bella in the house…

She felt tears prick behind her eyes as she swallowed a sob and touched the pendant at her collarbone, the rough edges of the stone somehow felt comforting even though it had remained colourless since her arrival,

"You really should try and get some sleep." Edward's voice commanded from the door as Bella gasped and turned her head to face him, not realising he had stopped playing, "And you really should learn to knock before entering."

She saw him give her a lop sided grin, before he pushed himself of the door frame and entered the room, "Seeing as this is my home and you are a guest, I believe I can go where I want." he came to stop at the foot of her bed, his hands in the most favoured position she had grown accustomed to, inside the pockets of his dark pants, "Did I frighten you?"

Bella took a deep breath as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, carefully covering her neck with her hand while her fingers grazed the stone that felt warm against her throat, "No." her short reply seemed to annoy Edward as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, "Pity" Bella barely heard the word as she decided maybe he could give her some answers.

She touched the small lamp at the bed, lighting the room up with its soft glow and happy in the knowledge of yet another invention from the era she had come from had successfully transcended from just a social experiment into something living and possible,

"Can I ask you something?" when he made no move to reply, Bella continued on nervously, "What is the story behind Moonacre. I mean," she took a deep breath as she licked her dry lips, "why is Dr Cullen reluctant to talk about it?"

Edward stared at her without moving a muscle, causing Bella to squirm uncomfortably at the intensity of his gaze. As she began to resign herself to not getting an answer he spoke, his voice held a softness that she had not heard before, "Do you believe in ghost stories Bella?"

It took her a second to register what he had meant. When she did not only had his question unnerved her, but she found him sitting on the end of her bed. As if he had somehow within a blink of an eye moved there without her knowledge,

"If you mean those that are made up to frighten little children out of their beds then no Edward I don't."

His smiled crookedly at her as he shook his head and Bella prepared herself for another mocking comment. Instead he continued as if unaffected by her candour, "Moonacre was said to have some kind of magical pull, forces of light and dark where drawn to it, whenever the moon was at its fullest that was when strange things happened."

"What kind of strange things?" Bella asked, becoming suddenly intrigued as she held onto the stone in her hand as Edward gazed at her, as if trying to read her soul, "how did your father come to purchase Wideacre Hall?"

She blinked a few times, the pull from his eyes was unsettling as she felt goose bumps dance on the surface of her skin, "S-some Lord came to my parent's home one night when we lived in Washington with a proposal to move to Ireland and take up residence there. Wideacre was the property that was offered in exchange for father's experience in the Police. It was too tempting an offer to pass up I suppose." Bella shrugged at the last bit as she played with the lace around the cuff of her nightgown.

"And he never questioned this…lord as to who owned the property before him?" Edward probed as Bella thought for a moment before answering, "If he did, I was not made aware of this. My position in my family Edward is simply to do what I am told and ask no questions,"

"But I'm sure you did Bella," replied Edward, his laugh as light as a caress, "You don't seem to have a problem vocalising your opinion when someone says something to offend you?" Bella felt her cheeks redden from his opinion of her as she raised her chin with dignity, "It all depends on what the person is speaking about and to whom they are referring too. I did not ask for this to happen to me Edward," she replied stoically, "I am as much out of my depth with all of this as your family are and very confused as to why. Wideacre has only been my home for a few short months and in that time I have hardly been away from it. Ireland was not as…"

Bella swallowed, willing the tears not to fall, "I thought it would be. My father is hardly at home and my mother has been poorly since our arrival. The only person I have taken comfort in is a girl who is not much older than I am and when I asked her about the family that lived there before she seemed reluctant, frightened that she would get into some kind of trouble."

Edward moved from the bed to stand beside the window that had the drapes open to reveal the moon, it's silver light casting shadows across his face as Bella felt her chest underneath the stone become warm to the touch,

"Then I'm afraid the girl to whom you had struck a friendship with was right," Edward responded not daring to look at Bella as he spoke, "Carlisle has only touched the surface of his ancestral home. There are far darker clues hidden behind the walls of that house, more sinister than you can possibly imagine."

Bella sensed the pendant's heat through her skin but tried to ignore it, what Edward was offering up as an explanation was more important, "I-if what you are saying is true then why is his painting hung on the walls of Wideacre if he said his family had moved away?"

The heat became too much as she winced and tried to pull the pendant away from her skin. The movement caught Edward's attention as his eyes widened and he made a move towards her, "The stone, it's glowing again!"

The feeling of flames flickering around her legs returned as Bella stared at Edward with beseeching eyes, "I-it's happening again, oh my god…"

Higher and higher they rose until her fingers and arms felt as if they were burning from the inside out. She felt Edward's cold hands and practically fainted from the delicious sensation that rippled through her on impact as he tried to remove the pendant from her clasp, "Let go of the stone. Bella let go of the stone!"

She tried but it was no use, her fingers wouldn't open. It was as if they had melted onto the surface of the pendant, "I-I can't!"

As the pain of being burnt reached her throat, Bella let out a scream as she closed her eyes and a bright blinding light wrapped itself around her, plummeting her once more forward into darkness.

The last thing she heard was Edward's voice as he called out to her from the darkness…

"Bella!"


	5. Chapter 5

_The dark side of the moon_

_Hidden shadows…_

The burn within her grew as Bella arched in pain and fought to surface from its naked flame, as it tried to bring her under and keep her there forever. As her eyes fluttered and tried to open, Bella cried out hoarsely as she drove her body pushing against the binds that held her prisoner, until she opened her eyes to darkness around her.

She was lying on the floor in the middle of the library; its warm wallpaper with its red and green colours swirled into one and welcomed her as if she had never left.

Stiffly, Bella moved herself into a sitting position, moaning softly as she glanced at the clock sitting on top of the mantel above the fire that had long since burnt out, it read four minutes to five o'clock, its steady ticking the only sound in the room. Pushing the long curtain of hair out of her face, Bella knew her parents would be awakening soon and didn't like the idea of being caught out of bed when she hadn't been there in the first place. Grabbing the Moonacre book from the desk, its gold lettering taunting her in the early morning shadow, she tucked the book underneath her breast inside the dressing gown and moved to stand by the closed door as she listened to hear if there was anyone about before slowly turning the knob and pulling open the door, glancing down the corridor for any sign of life.

Satisfied no one was about; Bella quickly took the stairs two at a time as quietly as she could and slipped into her room, closing the door behind her softly.

Leaning back against the door, a shuddering sigh of relief washed over Bella as she took in the familiar surroundings of her bed chamber with its rose petal wall décor above the dark wallcosting, dark chestnut dresser and vanity mirror, with her treasured flower water and silver comb and brush set. Her spacious four poster bed with its rumpled bedding she had thrown off in haste to get to the library in search of the book. The heavy pink velvet curtains were still closed, blocking out the first whispered fingers of dawn as she pushed herself off the door, pocketing the secret key inside her pocket and with one hand pulled the drapes open as the first rays of golden sunlight cast across her room in a warm glow. The acres of land stretched out in front of her, dotted with chestnut and oak trees blanketed with fog that covered the bottom and roots with its cotton like substance.

She allowed her mind to replay everything that had happened from the previous night, almost laughing to herself over the obscenity of such imaginations, until she looked down at her and there nestled at the collar of her nightgown, shinning dimly in the early morning light hung the stone pendant, or as Edward had called it a 'moon stone' and clutched in one had was the Moonacre book, the source to all her problems right now. Abruptly Bella set it down as if it had burnt her fingers and sunk slowly onto her bed, sighing as Bella rubbed her hands over her face shakily, recalling everything she had borne witness to since disappearing last night. If what she had been told were true, Bella had slipped between two worlds as if a gap in time had opened up and swallowed her in, and spitting her out two centuries later. At least that is how the people who found her tried to convince Bella that, that was the case. She winced painfully thinking about Alice; the young girl who had befriended her immediately was very open and friendly and didn't seem fazed at all with a young unknown girl turning up at their home from the past. She hoped that Edward would be able to explain how she vanished without saying goodbye.

Edward, the very name conjured up unfamiliar feelings she was not about to address right now. Instead she focused on the mother Esme, her caring compassionate side reminded her very much of her own mother Renee and how over-exuberant she was with her emotions with a flighty sense of disorder that always left her father bewildered and exhausted following one of her 'excitable moments' the family seemed unaffected by her sudden appearance in their lives but equally curious as to how she got there and what had aided in her arrival. Once more she felt the weight of the chain that hung around her neck from which the stone lay quietened as if asleep. However it happened, she was pretty sure that once she experienced a fitful night's sleep and wake up, finding it was nothing more than an elaborate dream. Perhaps she shouldn't have eaten so much at supper?

Carlisle's image however, haunted her still…

She would have to find a way to get into her father's study and look at the painting with a new set of eyes. Bella could recall just how pale the subject had looked and how haunted his eyes seemed to be. After seeing him in the flesh as it where, not a day had seemed to have passed between the date he had sat for the painting, and the date she was convincingly told was twenty thousand and ten.

Edward had found in no time at all a way of making her feel unwanted and uncomfortable, landing in the middle of his family and causing all kinds of questions as to the background of Carlisle Cullen's family.

The very name evoked a maelstrom of emotions that took her breath away. He was unabashedly handsome in ways that made her ache just thinking about him, but he was also obstinate and cantankerous with an air of snobbery she found both annoying, and entertaining at the same time. His hair was the colour of spun copper with eyes that would enchant a sea witch if she so much as looked at him. Sculpted out of stone would have been one way Bella could describe him, as he seemed untouchable, hardly giving her a second glance if not to goad her while he remained distant. Apart from when she came over faint and found herself in his cold arms as he breathed an intoxicating scent over her. Bella opened her eyes and pressed her fingers to her lips to quell a wave of giddiness. Such frivolous bouts of fantasy were unnecessary now, as Bella had to resign herself to the fact that it was possible she wouldn't see him again.

Not in this lifetime anyway.

Her door was knocked lightly and Bella panicked, shoving the book into the bottom drawer of her night stand before climbing into bed and arranging the covers around her body just as Siobhan opened the door with a tea tray in her hands, noticing at once that the curtains were opened,

"I could have sworn they were closed last night?" the puzzled girl set the tray at the side of the bed as Bella observed her from lowered eyelashes, feeling ashamed she had opened them in the first place, "Good morning Siobhan." Bella forced a fake yawn from behind her hand as she fixed her friend with a smile, "I opened them this morning to watch the sun rise." She smiled as she nodded in the direction of the window. Siobhan physically relaxed, fixing Bella with a slow grin, "Very well, drink your tea now while it's hot and I will see to getting your gown and things together." When the girl had turned her back, Bella slipped the pendant underneath the neckline of the gown until it nestled between her breasts, hoping it hadn't been noticed. She wasn't quite sure how to approach Siobhan with her vast knowledge of Wideacre and the land it owned, but one thing was for sure.

Bella would get to the bottom of unlocking the mysteries surrounding Moonacre and how she happened to slip into another time.

Sunday Mass was as eventful as it always was. Her parents sat in mute respect were dressed in sombre cloth with Renee sporting one of her newest bonnets, with a plumage of peacock feathers that made her look decidedly overdressed for the small church. To her left hand side sat the staff impeccably turned out even if they were dressed in worn clothing they still managed to look respectful in the eyes of God. The priest, father Flaherty was a stout balding man with an overbite that, if you sat in the front row you would be showered with the excess of phlegm that seemed to build up during one of his more 'colourful' sermons as he talked about casting out demons and temptation – liquor and gambling were always a favourite of his. Today Bella found herself more distracted than most. It was true that faith had held no sense of comfort for her, unlike her mom who hung onto every word the priest said, her prayer beads clutched inside her gloved hands as if she were afraid to let go of them in case her prayers did not get answered. This was always the time when their daughter sat in quiet reflection. Dressed in dark grey, her matching gloved hands sat neatly folded in her lap as she gazed unseeingly around her. The chain with the pendant thankfully hidden from sight underneath the buttoned collar of her dress was now cool against her skin as if it was asleep. Since her sudden and unexpected return to the floor of the library, it hadn't glowed or giving off any source of heat to indicate anything had happened. If it hadn't been for the fact that Bella was completely and utterly convinced of what had gone on and had in her possession the Moonacre book with the square hole cut out of the middle of it, one would conclude she had dreamt the whole thing up.

"_Bella?"_

A male voice whispered and she turned around to see who it was. Everyone seemed to be engrossed with the eulogy, all their eyes trained on father Flaherty as his voice boomed out across the tiny church vibrating along the walls like a roll of thunder. She frowned, convinced someone had called her, turned around and retreated back into her absent thoughts once more.

"_Bella?"_

Once again her name was called and once more Bella glanced around to see who it was. The voice although whispered sounded familiar. The way her name was spoken was almost like a soft caress when you touched silk or soft wool with your fingers, leaving a pleasant feeling behind. She glanced towards Siobhan who was sitting with her parents and brother, who stared back at Bella with a worried frown mouthing 'what's wrong?' in her direction. Bella shook her head and turned back towards the altar, confusion flushed her cheeks as she tried to settle back down again. It surely wasn't Liam playing tricks on her? Siobhan's brother was fifteen years old, tall for his age with long arms and legs that gave him an awkward gait as he walked. He had a mop of red hair that stuck out all over the place no matter how many times he tried to tame it. Known for playing pranks Bella wouldn't be surprised if he was calling her, just to get over the boredom of being here but the voice was more…masculine, not squawky and high pitched like Liam's.

"_Bella!"_

This time the voice sounded exasperated, as if trying twice before had annoyed it because of her ignorance. Once again Bella turned around only this time she felt her mother's hand tap her elbow causing her to turn back to a reproachful look from Renee as she fidgeted in her seat. Blushing out of embarrassment, Bella remained sitting with her eyes towards the front. Whoever it was trying to get her attention seemed to find it amusing to disturb her during the morning worship. Perhaps they were as bored as she was but that didn't give them the right to call her name out in a hushed whisper and not show themselves to her when she turned around, no matter how pleasing the voice sounded.

Of course she knew as soon as they stepped outside and got into their carriage that Renee would scold her for being so distracted, she allowed her mother the pleasure of letting her wayward daughter know that in the 'house of God we should try and be more chaste and respectful'

"But I heard someone calling my name?" Bella replied, "three times in fact."

Renee shook her head dismissively as she removed her black gloves and pushed them into her small bag she had at her wrist, "Don't be silly Bella, I heard no such thing. I know you bore easily, father Flaherty doesn't have the same flair as dear old Godfrey back h-home," the hesitation in her voice allowed Bella some measure of comfort, Renee missed America every bit as much as she did, "but that doesn't mean you have to be so obvious of your distraction."

Bella gritted her teeth as she stared out the window of the carriage. Charlie had been called back to the Headquarters in Dublin because of more civil unrest, therefore wouldn't be home for dinner. Patrick Delaware, one of his officers had been waiting outside for him with the official Police transport and after saying goodbye to his daughter and wife, climbed in and was driven away. It seemed her dad spent more time in the city than he did with his own family. Sighing, Bella pulled the velvet curtain across. Her mood could not be lifted by staring out at the countryside as it rolled slowly by and she glanced across at her mother, who also seemed distracted as she clasped and unclasped her thin pale hands, a deep frown creasing her forehead, her once vibrant blue eyes seemed glazed as if she was lost deep inside with her thoughts.

Dinner was a quiet affair and Bella couldn't wait until it was over and Renee retired as she did most nights to her own chamber of rooms, where she would sit beside the fire and do needlepoint or read. Slipping into her own room she crossed to the windows and stared out at the already darkening landscape taking shape outside her window. Bringing her gas lamp to the window, Bella stared out at the lonely acres as a heavy fog descended upon the land, whispering ghostly images around the trees and hedges. Coating them with a damp blanket, bringing moisture as ever when it rained. Sliding the latch across, Bella pulled the straps that held the window closed in a downward position and the glass panel pulled up slowly. She felt the cold night air hit her and she shivered in her deep blue crinoline dress she had worn for dinner as she felt the mist of rain carrying on the breeze and the smell of spring flowers hanging heavy around her. Out of the corner of her eye Bella thought she had seem a movement just below in the garden, tight beside the clump of trees that guarded the entrance of the area just below her window. She leaned closer to the window and squinted to see if she could make out what it was, the fog had grown thick and with the moon hidden behind thick clouds made it impossible to see clearly.

The door to her room opened, casting light into her room from the hallway and the cones of light that illuminated it. Bella heard a startled breath and turned around sharply to see Siobhan hurrying into the room with a look of horror on her face,

"Miss Bella come away from the window immediately!" her shrill voice echoed in Bella's ears as she moved past her quickly and removed the sashes from where Bella had positioned them, shutting the window closed and sliding the latch back into place, and pulling the velvet curtains across, shutting out the darkness, "You must not open the window at night, tis not safe."

Bella turned to Siobhan confused and saw the startling look of terror on her face as she blessed herself three times with shaky fingers, "Siobhan what's going on?"

The young girl stared at Bella for a few seconds before answering, as if contemplating carefully what to say, "You'd better sit down Miss." Bella crossed her arms across her chest and fixed Siobhan with an annoyed look, "And what if I don't want to?" she lifted one eyebrow as a challenge and saw no challenge in Siobhan's face…instead she saw what looked like terror, "Please Miss Bella this is important."

Reluctantly Bella took the small bench seat by her dressing table, placing her hands neatly on her lap and waited patiently for Siobhan to do the same. Instead the girl paced in front of the fire, gnawing on her bottom lip as she did so, a troubled look upon her face,

"Remember," she began "When you asked about the owners of this house and why they left. Why no one has lived in this house for so long?"

Bella nodded, suddenly feeling apprehensive of what was going to be said next as she licked her lips, "Go on?"

Siobhan stopped and stood staring at the fire as it blazed in the grate. The shadow of the flickering flames danced across her pale skin, making her seem older in her twenty and two years. With her red wiry hair escaping from the neat bun at the back of her neck, her Black woollen dress she wore as a uniform seemed rumpled as if she had been sleeping in it, "What I'm about to tell you will make you think I have a touch of madness about me Miss, but you have to understand the reason why things are as they seem." Siobhan took a deep breath and turned her face towards Bella, her green eyes watching her beseechingly. Whatever it was she was about to tell Bella must be very grave indeed for never had she seen a more frightened look than right now in front of her,

"I will listen patiently Siobhan," Bella replied with a small smile, "and won't judge whatever it is you have to tell me."

Siobhan held her hands up to her chest clasped together tightly, "thank you miss, but it comes as a stark warning for you. For its not me you should be worried about…but the safety of your family."

Whatever Siobhan was about to tell Bella was interrupted by the doorbell being rang loudly and consistently, its echoed chime rang throughout the house, snapping Siobhan to attention as she excused herself and went out to the upstairs landing to see what the fuss was about, followed closely behind by Bella. Two men were shouting in loud voices as they came through the front door backwards that was being held open by Liam and his father as the men carried what looked like a man lying limp in their arms. Bella recognised the man immediately,

"FATHER!" her cry rang out as she ran down the stairs almost falling over as the skirts of her dress caught around her ankles with Siobhan close on her heels. Margaret came through the doors leading into the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron with a worried look upon her face, caught sight of her daughter behind Bella, giving her a short nod as Siobhan turned and hurried towards the room her mother had just vacated as both Aggie the scullery maid and her friend Eileen who had just put more firewood on the fire in the study looked on with ashen faces. Bella dropped to the ground as the men laid her father out on the settee in the parlour explaining that they had already sent for Doctor Bellows and he was on his way. Charlie's face was covered in a mixture of blood and dirt as it was smeared across one cheek, a large gash was across the other. His suit he had worn that morning to church was torn covered in the same caked in blood and dirt as his face, his white starched shirt ripped open, as if it had been shredded with something sharp like a knife. Another large gash was across his ribs with dark bruising already beginning to show, his chest rose and fell slowly as he moaned painfully from having to breathe.

"W-What happened to him?" Bella's strained voice spoke to the men who had brought her father in, one of them she recognised as one of his deputies he was seen leaving church with that morning. The man looked anxiously across to the other before speaking,

"There was a bit of a scuffle at Hopkins's Crossing so we sent some men over to see if we could break it up." The deputy began as Bella noticed for the first time that he too looked worse for wear, his own clothing stained with blood and mud, a long gash was visible near his wrist with visible signs he had been in a fight,

"And…my…father?" Bella asked, not daring to take her eyes of Charlie as Agatha was excused by Margaret to fetch Renee, who had returned with a basin of hot water and cloths. Once more the deputy glanced across at the other police officer, something that annoyed Bella in her frantic state before he spoke again, "Your father decided to get stuck in Miss Swan, three of our men were attacked and left injured…the other six…well…" he lowered his eyes, his blonde hair was thick with mud as he pushed it out of his eyes,

"T-they're dead?" a sense of dread shifted on top of Bella's shoulders as she shivered involuntarily when the young man nodded solemnly "Yes Miss."

".GOD…C-Charlie!" Renee rushed into the room in a flurry of skirts and hysteria as she saw first Bella then her husband lying barely conscious on the furniture he had been placed on. A maddening eruption of questions rolled out of her mouth and were all answered as calmly as they could while movement at the door indicated that the Doctor had arrived to examine his patient. He looked tired and had a white handkerchief out, dabbing his forehead and neck that were both flushed from being rushed. Bella moved back to allow Doctor Bellows near her dad and numbly stood up. Voices buzzing like bees swarming around her head seemed to fade into the background as she moved herself towards the entrance hallway to close the front door that was letting in the evening chill.

As she placed her hand upon the latch and gazed out into the foggy darkness, a shadow moved near the path, darting from left to right in a swooping pattern. She blinked several times to adjust to sight, squinting to see if she could make out if it was someone coming towards the house or not as carriages lined the stone driveway. Glimpses of the moon could be seen behind the thick soup of cloud, casting a milky glow as if trying to fight through the thick blanket of fog to aid her eyesight as the pendant around her neck began to thrum against her breast bone, heating her cold skin. She touched it absently, drawing from it a source of comfort and a sense of worry in case it took her from this place when right now, when she needed to be with her family. She was just about to set foot out onto the porch when she felt a quick movement beside her,

"Miss Bella, I told you to stay away from outside!" It was Siobhan by her side in an instant as she closed the door shut, closing out the swirling fog and mysterious dark shadow moving amongst it,

"But I saw someone coming up to the house," Bella tried to protest but already Siobhan was ushering her into the drawing room where a tea tray had been set on one of the tables, her cool damp skin fingers held onto Bella's elbow, her hair had a lingering scent of wood and mist and rain,

"Come have some tea, you're in shock right now." Siobhan said, "I'll just go and fetch Mrs Swan she's in a fine state and might need a draft after Doctor Bellows attends to your father."

Bella sat reluctantly down on one of the overstuffed chairs as she stared unseeingly at the fire crackling in the grate, her mind in turmoil. Who had attacked her father did they find him, did they arrest him? And why did Siobhan smell as if she had been outside in the fog when she clearly didn't like Bella going anywhere near it?

It had become very late when everyone finally left the house. Doctor Bellows had bandaged her father up successfully, having had to stitch up several wounds that had looked as if they had been serrated by a blade and with strong pain relief to aid a night's sleep he promised to return in the morning to check on Charlie's condition. Renee ended up getting a prescribed sleeping draft to calm her nerves down and with the aid of Bella and Eileen; they managed to get her into bed without too much resistance. Charlie had gained consciousness briefly as he spoke to the doctor about the attack. With the fog being that thick his men had become outnumbered and couldn't see who had attacked them and watch helplessly as his men fell around him in agony, before he too came under attack.

With the house finally silent once more, Bella retired to her room and sunk down onto the ottoman at the foot of her bed, pulling the pins out of her hair and scattering them across her dressing table. It had been a night of stress and anxiety, at least she knew the injuries her father received where not life threatening and the luck of that was overwhelming as she leaned forward, placing her head between her hands and cried. She was never one for crying, it had been inbred into her that ladies didn't show emotion in front of other people, but kept it to quiet moments when they were alone and no one would disturb them. Now great wrecking sobs tore through her throat as she thanked God that Charlie had come away with wounds that would eventually heal but felt sorrow for those police officers that didn't, and how their families were possibly being informed right now that they would not be coming home. She moved slowly to her wardrobe and removed her dress that was now crumpled and creased, placing it in the hamper to be taken away and washed as she filled the wash basin with water and began scrubbing her face before drying it. finally Bella slipped on her nightgown and prepared herself for a sleep that would no doubt come to her, sitting in front of the mirror at her dresser, she began brushing the managed knots in her hair when the door was rapped quietly,

"Come in?"

Her bedroom door was opened, casting darkness into the room from the already extinguished cones that always gave a source of light in the hallway as Siobhan entered carrying her own gas lamp, already ready for bed, a dark grey shawl wrapped around her bony shoulders, her long dressing gown sweeping the floor as she came in,

"Are you alright Miss Bella," Siobhan asked quietly, "I was just checking on your mam, she's fast asleep and da is keeping an eye on Master Swan downstairs". After he had been bandaged by Doctor Bellows it seemed easier if Charlie would remain downstairs so that the staff could see to him without disturbing Bella and her mom. Patrick and Margaret had made up a makeshift bed in the study and were keeping watch over him in case he woke up in pain and needed more of the pain draft that was left for him.

"I-I'm fine thank you Siobhan, just a little worried about what happened tonight." She smiled weakly setting the silver brush down on the table as she turned slowly towards Siobhan who had come to stand in the middle of the bedroom, "It must have been a fright for you though?"

Siobhan made a face as she set the lamp down on the mantel piece, watching the embers fall into the grate as the fire got lower, "I've seen worse Miss Bella. This land we all live on has been fought over for many a year now. Doesn't matter who gets hurt, it's the killing that's unnecessary."

"Do you think it was the freedom fighters that attacked my dad?" Bella asked, suddenly feeling angry that they would attack men for only doing their jobs, stopping any more homes being burned to the ground and families being put out on the street. Not that it made any difference when the English had their own guarding them and were equally as ruthless at burning the tenants who could not pay the taxes on the small lots they were giving to farm on. None of it made sense to Bella, but then again she was an outsider and the rule of play didn't matter to her…until now, until her father was the one who had been injured trying to restore some peace.

"It weren't the Irelanders if that's what you mean Miss Bella." Siobhan spoke with a reassuring voice, "They may be loyal to the cause and take measures in making sure their point is put across, but they wouldn't have been daft enough to go out there in that soup of a fog just for a scuffle with the law."

Bella frowned at this, "If it weren't them, then who?"

Siobhan stared into the fire as if she hadn't heard Bella, lost in her own thoughts it seemed, "Remember when I said to you that there was something wrong with the family that owned this house?"

Bella remembered vividly, finding it odd that Siobhan would place the Cullen family as being strange, so strange that people stayed away from them. Having already seen Carlisle Cullen with his pale face and white blonde hair and amber coloured eyes for herself, his kind manner was anything but strange, "Yes?"

"It wasn't the family that were strange," began Siobhan as she fixed Bella with a concerned and frightened stare, "it was the circumstances of what happened to them that appeared strange."

Absently, Bella touched the chain around her neck; the clear gem with the circled snake buried inside it was nestled underneath the embroidered folds of her nightgown against her ribcage, just having it there seemed to calm her slightly, "Go on, I'm listening."

Siobhan moved slowly towards Bella and sat down on the ottoman opposite her, her face shadowed with concern as she took a deep breath and began, "You see this land that this grand house is built upon is known as hallowed ground, or at least it was at one time. The Cullen's where a well-known family and had lived here for several hundred years happily. When Eugene Cullen's grandfather died, this estate was left to him or so I was told, he had just married his wife whom he had met during a season in London and brought her back here to Wideacre. Tales say they were very happy and their union produced a son, a beautiful boy that they named,

'_Carlisle' _Bella whispered into herself as Siobhan announced his name "Carlisle"

Eugene had decided to become a Pastor, setting up his own church and teachings in the protestant faith. Some heralded this as Eugene turning his back on Rome and everything his family had ever stood for, blaming his wife for corrupting and seducing him to the side of the faith everyone despised. Soon more protestants began moving across from England and with their wealth that was believed was stolen from the catholic faith and waved under Rome's nose they began buying up large acres of farmland and building their homes on it."

Siobhan took a deep breath as she stared at the fire once more, as if looking at it enabled her to draw energy from it, "I know this seems like a history lesson to you, but it's important in the grand scheme of things. You see unbeknownst to Eugene, his sister Morgan had married a wealthy businessman from London – Montgomery Stanley, brought him to Wideacre and introduced him to her brother and his wife. He and Clara struck up a friendship immediately, causing Eugene to have concerns over the nature of such a friendship but his sister dismissed this as nothing other than brotherly and sisterly love. But that was nothing compared to what was really going on. Montgomery was not to be trusted, he had belonged to a group of men in London who had less than favourable dealings in devil worshipping, marking themselves with signs, cutting into their skins with a blade."

Bella's eyes widened at this, "But why, why did they do this?"

Siobhan looked gravely at Bella, "Because they believed that the demons that roamed this earth where only angels that had fallen out of the sky after the heavenly battle and by worshipping them they hoped to gain eternal life."

If Bella looked as if she was in shock it didn't show on her face. Heavenly battle, demons none of it made any sense, "But what had this to do with the Pastors family?"

"Simple," replied Siobhan, "Once Eugene Cullen heard of this, he was enraged that his own brother in law was at night worshipping the devil and his followers, bringing forth monsters and demons that hid in shadow and attacked unsuspecting humans, draining them of life and taking over their bodies."

"This sounds like…" Bella shook her head a hysterical laugh escaped her throat, "this is like one really messed up ghost story you're telling me Siobhan, how am I supposed to believe any of this?"

Siobhan nodded, expecting this from Bella, "Let me finish and then decide whether you believe me or not." When Bella nodded, she continued, "I know this all sounds ridiculous to you, but hear me out. Eugene Cullen decided to confer with several priests, they may have religious difference but demons are demons and need to be cast out. They attacked the meeting place armed with crosses and holy water, tore down the pulpit and alter that had blood in goblets and torched the place bringing it to the ground. It was then that Montgomery spat on Eugene's face and cursed the land on which his home stood upon, declaring it no longer hallowed and that demons would spread forth and hunt the land. Eugene took the threat seriously and not one night later had a passage booked for his wife and son to London, allowing a priest to exorcize the house of any demonic entities and circle it with holy water. Enraged at having his meeting place destroyed, Montgomery knew that Eugene would not have spoken a word to Clara about this and as a token and late birthday present he gave her a necklace with a pendant, a diamond clear as glass."

Bella inwardly shook from this shocking piece of information, but tried not to let it show on her face as Siobhan blindly continued, "there was no recollection as to what this meant, by the time they left, Clara Cullen had already received the gift and her family was on its to London. Morgan stayed behind she was already knee deep in everything and knew of her husband's involvement with dark magic, but was afraid for her own life. She kept in touch with her brother which is how she found out Clara had suddenly become ill, hallucinating about their son and monsters with sharp teeth, draining humans of blood and leaving them for dead in a pit of rotting flesh. This had concerned Eugene who decided to try and exorcise whatever demon was possession his wife as well as learning that the little group that Montgomery had been creating where called Shadow Dwellers, sworn to serve Satan and his flock of fallen angels against God. He took it upon himself to rid London of any existing creations born of this, which is how he came about understanding about the children of the Night known as Night Crawlers, they go by a more worldly name – vampires."

Bella swallowed, 'vampires?"

Siobhan nodded, "Oh yes, they do exist Miss Bella. There is more to heaven and earth that what you will find in neither your most prized books nor the bible your family so reverently read. Clara Cullen, after many months of sickness took her own life. They say she climbed up onto the ledge of her window and believed the angels would take her away from all the monsters that plagued her mind and sucked at her soul, Morgan believed she was possessed by some demonic presence and her brother should have been concentrating on helping his wife and not go off into the night like some demon hunter she knew he wasn't. Eugene had got old by the time his son Carlisle was old enough to be trained as a minister, something that he was reluctant to do. He had such a caring nature, such forgiving kind eyes and had suffered such horrors. See he was the one who had found his mother's body and tried unsuccessfully to restart her heart. Unknown to his father, Carlisle had applied and got accepted into a training school for physicians and was on his way home to break the news when he found Clara lying in a pool of blood, her lifeless eyes staring up at him. After that, Eugene would hear nothing more about his son wanting to be a Doctor and made it his mission to train Carlisle as a minister. It was during a threat on London that Eugene took to his bed with pleurisy and Carlisle went out that night himself…he never returned."

Someone gasped and to Bella's horror it had been her. So caught up in the story she hadn't realised that the fire had gone out and they were now both sitting in the cold. The gas lamps flickered lazily as the wick burnt low. Collecting her thoughts, Bella ran through what Siobhan had just told her, "So…what happened to C-Carlisle?"

Siobhan shook her head as she twisted her hands nervously on her lap, "Some people say he was caught by one of the fanged demons and killed, but his body was never found. If he had been turned and made into one of them, then he would have attacked like the others were so used to doing come after his father maybe and kill him. Eugene became inconsolable after that, claiming that his house had to be boarded up in case the demons with the red eyes came after him."

"But his son, Carlisle's portrait hangs in fathers study…how did it get here?" Bella asked, rocked by what she had been told and not knowing whether to believe any of it. Siobhan nodded, "When Eugene finally died, his sister went to London to retrieve his things. Sent all the family belongings back to Wideacre where they have been ever since. This was her family home and after her brother died she took to living here surrounded by the memories of a family she once had. Carlisle's portrait was painted on his twenty-second birthday just before he went out to hunt the vampires."

Bella's stomach lurched, her voice stuck in her throat. Carlisle Cullen she knew for a fact was very much alive but living almost two hundred years into the future.

"So…" she began suddenly attacked with the sense of urgency, what has it got to do with me now and why my father was injured tonight…"

"It's fairly simple," Siobhan began as she twisted a finger around the small thread that hung loose from her nightgown, "my family have watched over this home for centuries, since the very first Cullen lived here. We have been loyal and stood by while changes have happened, witnessed a great many things and with each passing have always endeavoured to ensure no harm would come to anyone living here. When Morgan Cullen passed away the house laid in silence until we were told a new family would be living here, one from America and we found ourselves being hired once more to take care of that family, to return to Wideacre Hall. There are a great many things you don't understand Miss Bella and one day maybe I will be able to tell you, but for now…"

She stared straight and sure into Bella's eyes, her voice held a breath of conviction in it as she spoke, "While you live in this house you will be protected by my family, but when night falls around the land, around Moonacre, you will be in danger of what lurks out there. The shadows are not your friend, they are neither friend nor foe and you must not invite them in."

It was much later, after Siobhan left Bella's chamber that she finally lay down in her bed staring up at the canopy above her head. There was just so much to take in, so many things she had been told that made complete sense and in some other ways utter horrible nonsense. She couldn't laugh at the ridiculous presumptions, considering she had experienced first-hand something incredibly unbelievable she found it difficult trying to put it into words. But what she did know now was at least some kind of history about Carlisle Cullen and the sadness surrounding his parent's heartache and sadness. How his mother went mad simply by wearing the necklace that was now in her possession, was she suffering the same ill-fated demise? Was the necklace actually making her hallucinate, did she make the whole thing up?

If it was some kind of hallucination then it had felt so real. She could remember all their faces and see them when she closed her eyes. How Alice looked so small and Emmett was so big. Rosalie looked so refined and glamorous while Esme looked friendly and motherly as she spoke and reassured her that everything would be alright. How Carlisle was open and warm if not a touch concerned as to how she got there, not looking a day older than the portrait that hung in her father's study and he had been twenty-two when it was commissioned…

How Edward had looked at her with intense golden coloured eyes, following her wherever she was, making her uneasy, making her feel exposed. Her eyes suddenly opened as she stared off into space, remembering Siobhan's comment about the monsters with red eyes. Each member of the Cullen's she had met didn't have red eyes; their eyes were a mixture of warm copper to golden honey. The portrait of Carlisle that hung in pride and place over the fireplace, standing tall and proud in a dark coloured coat and stark white shirt…his eyes staring back at her were blue.


	6. Chapter 6

_The dark side of the moon_

_Bella's Debut…_

_**In the days that followed, Charlie slowly got better. The wounds were mostly superficial which meant he was very lucky to have escaped with what he did have, very lucky indeed.**_

_**This allowed both Bella and Renee some relief, the hunt for who had attacked his men at Hopkins's Crossing was still on-going while those that had lost their lives were buried after a short mass in the nearby graveyard 'Angel's Cemetery' there was a sense of worry that hung over the heads of everyone, especially after the bodies have been taken away to the morgue of the hospital with wounds that looked more like vicious animal attacks than anything remotely like a pitchfork or knife, even a gunshot wound would leave a hole with powder residue. The wounds inflicted, much like the ones Bella's father had received were deep and wide as if someone or something clawed at them, lashing out randomly and killing mercilessly. **_

_**That piece of knowledge Bella overheard one morning when she passed Charlie's study while two officers were giving him their report into everything that had happened following the Crossing attack. If they had still been in Washington, it would have been easy to chalk it up to a bear attack, especially in the Peninsula. But they were in Ireland, a place that no bears could live. With the low temperature and damp climate of this godforsaken land, the Irish Sea whipping at your back… the winds howling at your front door.**_

_**Whatever it was that killed Charlie's officers, it had spared her father from the same death it had inflicted on the poor souls that had tried reasoning with it. Whether that was due to being disturbed or by some other means, Bella was just grateful that it wasn't her family suffering the loss of a loved one.**_

_**After that, the thread of events ran from one day to the next and with it came dreams that woke her in blinding sweat, dreams of demons rising out of the River Liffy as they crawled along the bank towards her. Sharp teeth and blood red eyes laughed at her from behind her eyelids, calling to her in sinister voices as they drained the life out of everyone she loved. **_

_**Of course a lot of her nightmares were due to what Siobhan had revealed to her, having an overactive imagination did her no good, especially as it was drawing near to her debut on Dublin's social circuit. Try as she did to get Renee to put off showing her to Dublin's society, Bella found herself once more up against two parents who were adamant that 'keeping up with appearances' was the what was needed to show that a needless spineless attack would defer from their daughters grand entrance into womanhood. The location was the beautiful Somerton House, a grand estate with acres of land around it, with breath-taking views and opulence in every inch of floor space it could manage. The grand ballroom could hold several hundred people comfortably, with floor to ceiling windows looking out over a small river bank. Large cut crystal chandeliers hung low on the ceiling and offered decadent lighting that cast its ambient glow over the huge floor space. Ivory and gold decorated the room, giving it not only a sumptuous and luxuriant feeling, but it also made you wilt with wondrous delight with a sense that you belonged to some majestic court and you were the Queen for only one day.**_

_**It was fashionable at Bella's age to be seen in events such as this, to allow members of society especially young available unmarried men, to seek approval from young blushing girl's parents for an arrangement, based on approval for courtship. Requirements were strict and done solely through the agreement of the mother of the girl with the hope to form a successful union. Bella felt neither the need or the desire to catch herself a handsome husband, she was too concerned over the events that had taken place in her life at current, to deal with the trappings of a marriage nor children just because her parents agreed it should be done.**_

_**So here she stood in the middle of the ballroom, dressed in a stiff corseted dress of deep plum velvet. The neckline swooped in a delicate sweetheart design with crushed pearl beading along the décolletage and around the short sleeves that bared her pale milky coloured skin, as the skirt of the dress flowed over her hips and finished with a small bustle and train that rustled along behind her on the blanched wooden flooring. Her hair was swept off her face and neck and pinned high above her head with a series of pearl drop combs that dotted around her auburn hair like tiny tear drops. Despite Renee's best intentions of making Bella wear Grandmother Swan's pearl choker that had been in the family for three generations, Bella opted to wear the plain gold necklace and pendant. Concealing it underneath the neckline close to her heart, Bella felt somehow safe knowing it was with her at all times. Her nightmares that had brought to her flashing images of demonic and putrid monsters that frightened her awake, but they also brought to her dreams of a pale skinned face as it gazed at her in the dark with eyes of liquid gold. The cold slither of something touching her fevered skin, and a whisper of tenderness like a lullaby drifting as gently as if it were a leaf upon a breeze rocked her away from the nightmares, away from the horrors that tried to suffocate her while she slept. However she tried to shake the image out of her mind, it held steadfast onto her waking moments. A smile that held a serene quality about it, as if an angel watched over here in approval but at the same time, the slightest upturn of one corner of its mouth, revealed a mischievous benevolent quality that was both alarming and shockingly desirable to Bella. of course it was the same face over and over as she slept, the same angelic male with bronze hair and mysterious eyes that drove her forward with the hope that somehow she would see him again.**_

_**Not since that first night had the stone glowed with any kind of heat, nor did it light up and give off a strong vibrating signal to indicate that she would disappear through some loophole in time. She had taken to the library both at Wideacre and in the town with the knowledge that some things had to be possible. No amount of literature however could quell her need to find out if science indeed held the clue to what she experienced and why it happened. Hence the desperate need to wear the necklace constantly with the hope that by some strange occurrence she would become fortunate again. As she took up her position beside her parents as they greeted the guests upon arrival, Bella reflectively allowed herself a moment to remember those she had left behind when they moved to Ireland. Family friends that had known the Swan's all their married life would be greeting her now, people she had always felt at ease with during Christmas parties and birthday celebrations, instead of gazing at unfamiliar faces she had never seen but were equally curious to get to know her it seemed.**_

_**Women of all ages and size waltzed into the room all dressed in impeccable designs from both Paris and London, or so they made it known in their loud manner whilst talking to those they had not seen in a while. Scrawny looking girls with too much paint on their faces and overly indulgent gowns swept the room with eagle eyes sizing up any single male that walked into the room and scanned the party with boredom looking for the drinks trays that were dotted around the ballroom on the arms of silent waiters who drifted in and out of the guests that mingled with precise and skilful precision. Bella seized Siobhan around the elbow as they moved towards one of the unoccupied corners; the noise was like a thousand buzzing bees circling the air above their heads.**_

"_**How long do I have to endure this?" she complained "my feet are tired and I would so love to go home."**_

_**Siobhan smiled sympathetically at Bella, "This is your party Miss Bella, your moment to shine and catch the eye of some unsuspecting gentleman." Her laughter rang with merriment as she spoke. She was wearing a deep blue silk gown, modest by most standards with not a hint of beading or lace in sight. Being her lady's 'companion' meant she had to attend an evening such as this make sure everyone was introduced to Bella, including matriarch ladies with offish sons who dribbled and mumbled their greetings at her,**_

"_**I so want to take this slippers off, they're pinching my toes," Bella moaned as she leaned heavily on Siobhan's arm as she caught one of the buckles and pulled it away from the soft skin of her left foot, "Trust my mom to get me footwear that's too tight."**_

"_**Only the best from London for you I was told," Siobhan remarked as she cast her gaze across the crowd, "Don't look now but Lady Ashcroft is making a beeline for you."**_

_**Lady Victoria Ashcroft was one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Rumour had it she had inherited the title after her husband's untimely death and with it several extensive properties stretching from Dublin to Co. Kildare. She was quite tall in stature with a halo of wild strawberry blonde hair swept to the side of her neck, decorated in beads and diamonds in a very grandiose style that would have reminded you of the courts of Marie Antoinette. Her gown was of a deep gold with a high waist and plunging neckline that revealed more than an ample glimpse at her bosom that was put on display for all to see. Her face was pale and also bejewelled with a carefully placed black beauty mark at the side of her red painted mouth. An eye mask in the same colour as her dress was held by a long handle that she held in her free hand, it would have appeared she thought this event was some kind of costume ball. Beside Lady Ashcroft, striding with the same sweeping manner was a tall gentleman wearing a dark green velvet coat a gold vest underneath that matched the gold of Lady Ashcroft's gown. A deep jaw with a prominent nose but the rest of his face was also hidden behind an elaborately decorated eye mask, concealing anything more and making him appear guarded and dangerous. His hair was a light blonde colour, tied with a black ribbon at the nape of his neck in the usual fashion of a man with long hair, **_

"_**So this is the delectable Miss Isabella Swan who lives at Wideacre Hall," Lady Ashcroft purred as they approached Bella and Siobhan, "last I heard that old place was haunted?"**_

_**Bella smiled politely as Lady Ashcroft held her hand, noticing immediately how cold the woman's hand when she shook it, remembering to curtsey as she did so, "Lady Ashcroft."**_

_**Pleasantries aside Bella was then introduced to 'Lady Victoria's brother Sir James Stanley who gave them a curt nod but seemed to keep his eyes on Bella during the exchange, making her feel nervous at being watched under such close scrutiny. After explaining how her family had come to live on Wideacre Hall through a friend of her fathers and their long passage across, as Lady Victoria announced that a family member of hers owned one of the large steam vessels that offers passage to and from America for a grand but modest fee, it was then out of the corner of her eye that Bella noticed someone familiar in the crowd of people in the ballroom. It was just a fleeting second, but in that moment, she could have sworn it was…Edward?**_

_**There was no mistaking the height as he moved purposely through the guests standing around in collective groups. His unusual head of bronze hair was a striking contrast against those around him that were dark and fair haired. No one had hair that colour, it could only be him. Excusing herself from Lady Victoria, informing Siobhan she would be back as soon as possible only to be rewarded with a stern look of concern, Bella moved swiftly through the crowd, smiling and greeting as she went by all the while keeping her eyes fixed carefully on the retreating back of the man as he turned the corner and was out of the room through a set of doors. Seizing the opportunity, Bella hurried after him and went through the same set of doors, finding herself in the middle of a very long corridor with small crystal flowered wall lights illuminating the high walls and ceilings…alone.**_

_**Her heartbeat raced in her chest as she looked around her in dismay. She wasn't seeing things, and it looked most definitely like Edward, the build the height the hair. She didn't need to see his face to know he was there; his face was unforgettable, even in her sleep. Lifting her skirts up she tried several of the doors but they were locked and she thumped them in frustration as she turned to the stairs that were situated at the opposite end of the corridor, 'surely he wouldn't have gone up there?'**_

"**Edward?" **_**Bella whispered as her heels made a clicking noise down the tiled flooring, **_**"Edward!" **_** she called out again as the door to her left opened and a young man appeared in black and white uniform, carrying a tray with white linen upon it and seemed startled when he saw her, "Can I help you with anything Miss?" when Bella declined the offer, he smiled and bowed his head and moved gracefully through the doors she had just come from that lead into the grand ballroom. Sighing with frustration despite believing it was Edward she saw, Bella turned towards the same door she had come from and with one last look around the empty corridor and left.**_

_**Movement from under the stairs did not catch her eye. It would have been too quick for any human to register as the shadow dipped up from under the stair well from a space no bigger that a child size. Straightening up and adjusting the coat that it was wearing and deciding it was safe to move, the shadow came forward, listening intently for any sound that would suggest someone was coming, the tall bronze haired man walked towards the doors that Bella had just gone through, a faint smile played on his lips as he watched her move unhurriedly through the crowd once more, glancing sideways every now and again as if she felt a presence was watching her. His eyes drank in everything about her and how despite all the colours of the fashion that seemed to punctuate the air with its gaudiness Bella Swan was like a beacon in the night, a pale luminous swan in the middle of a black lake. He shouldn't be seen by her, not yet. Bella had no idea that when she disappeared from his time to return to her own, he had somehow managed to come with her, finding himself of on Moonacre in the middle of a demon uprising.**_

_**Although she was grateful for the extravagance her parents had gone to in making her debut special, there was nowhere more Bella wanted to be right now than back in her bedroom alone with her thoughts. Dinner was a wonderful affair of various meats and sweet dishes that she'd had trouble keeping up. For the adults the champagne flowed while she had to settle for sweet wines that had already began giving her a headache. Many seemingly nice young men had smiled at her a few times while she conversed with her parents newly acquainted friends, smiled at their well wishes as they took their seats just before dinner. Now as the room was cleared for dancing did Bella feel the need to escape while the night was still young?**_

"_**You can't Miss Bella," Siobhan scolded disapprovingly, "Master and Mistress Swan have gone to all this trouble, and it would be rude to excuse yourself now. Besides…" she sighed worriedly, "You can't be going back to Wideacre just yet not without your parents it's not safe."**_

_**Bella reached for the chain around her neck touching it reverently, as she looked at her companion "Because of what you told me?"**_

_**Siobhan didn't look at her but nodded her head instead as she watched Bella's mother being approached by another young man who leaned in and took the woman's hand as he planted a kiss on the gloved fingers, "partly that of course and partly because the dancing is just about to start and your card it seems is already quite full."**_

_**Bella turned around to the now cleared space of flooring as Renee waved at Bella from her own seat beside her father, "I suppose I'm trapped here against my will then, even though I have absolutely zero coordination and will probably stand on everyone's toes in the process."**_

_**Siobhan chuckled at this, "the man should lead the lady, not the other way around. Just sway in time to the music and let his feet do the rest."**_

_**The band took their place at the edge of the room, violins, cellos and an assortment of brass instruments tuned to perfection as they arranged their music sheets in order of preference and with a nod from Charlie they began playing. The music filled the room and couples (mostly the parents and those that were married to one and other) got up at the first recognisable piece of music and began dancing, leaving the young girls such as Bella and awkwardly bored men sitting around not daring to look at one and other. Bella sighed deeply as she played with the silver spoon beside her china tea cup and didn't see a shadow pass in front of her until it spoke,**_

"_**May I have the pleasure of your first dance Miss Swan?" the deep tone of a male's voice spoke and Bella looked up into the face of Lady Victoria's man servant James Stanley. Glancing quickly towards Siobhan who was staring curiously at James but gave a tight nod in response to his request, Bella smiled and offered her hand as he took it in his black gloved one and moved them towards the floor where others where dancing. His face was unreadable behind the heavily decorated mask that was attacked to his face and covering his eyes. It was as if he didn't want her to see his face, hiding it in a bizarre display of secrecy,**_

"_**Do tell me why you are wearing a mask covering your eyes?" Bella asked as she moved and positioned her hand in his as he placed his other hand around her waist and moved her to the rhythm of the music. His only answer at first was a smile, turning up the corners of his mouth in a lazy grin before speaking, "Mistress prefers the anonymity of being able to move around without much detection." Then as an afterthought he spun Bella around and captured her hand bringing it up to his lips and kissing it, "we all have secrets we want to hide…don't we Miss Swan?"**_

_**Bella leaned back to look at his face, hidden behind embroidered feathers and paint, it was hard to decide if he was being serious or not, "I don't know what you mean…Sir James…"**_

"_**Oh but I think you do Miss Swan," James purred as he grinned menacingly at her, "Do you seriously believe your father was plucked out of obscurity in America, with a lifestyle that was more than befitting for him. To come all the way across to Ireland and live in a house that for most standards is too grand for his family's statue in life?"**_

_**Bella had stopped moving and was now simply staring up at him with a look of disbelief, "and pray tell me then what are you suggesting is the truth?" she began bitterly, resenting his accusation "For I am only aware than my father was asked specifically to come to this country and help with policing, something he is over and above highly qualified for?"**_

_**He gripped her hand with a little bit more pressure as he gritted his teeth in a hushed fashion, "Do move Miss Swan we don't want to cause attention now do we?" when she reluctantly complied he continued in the same smooth tone he had begun the conversation with, "You see I have it on good authority that there are many stories surrounding that glorious home you now occupy, things that should not be within your possession. I happen to know that the family that once owned Wideacre left a lot of its…heirlooms that belong to the rightful owner of them…Montgomery Stanley who so happened to be my brother."**_

_**Bella's eyes widened at this and James noticed immediately as he nodded, "I see you are up to date with the history of Wideacre and the disgraceful black mark that was left upon my brother's good nature…"**_

"**He was a monster!"**_** Bella hissed as she looked around her, trying to catch Siobhan's attention but couldn't find her. James beside her chuckled as he continued unaware of her distress, "I wouldn't worry about your companion Miss Swan, last I looked she had gone out of the room possibly to powder her nose…you're safe with me."**_

_**Bella felt her heart slam into her chest as she blinked back the panic that threatened to engulf her, "W-what do you want from me, why are you telling me this?" sweat had already began to bead on her forehead, just how much did he know about the Cullen family history?**_

_**He laughed lightly then as he spun her around one more time, gracefully moving Bella making it appear they were having an innocent conversation while enjoying each other's company, "what do I want from you…well…there are many, many things I would want from you but for now…" he lifted her hand that had become stiff in his and kissed the top of her knuckles, causing Bella to want to wrench it out of his and spit with repulsion, "let's just say my brothers secrets did not die with him. In fact, he made it very clear in several letters what is rightfully his, considering his dearly departed wife left him the Hall and everything in it…in his name."**_

_**The room felt suddenly warm as the blood rushed through her ears and threatened to consume her in a cloak of darkness if she were to faint. She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach and worried she would be sick from the dizziness,**_

"_**May I have the next dance?" a deep velvet voice spoke at her side as James stared angrily at the interruption and let go of Bella immediately. Bella blinked and looked up, the air rushed out of her lungs as she recognised who it was,**_

"_**Miss Swan?" one perfectly shaped eyebrow arched over deep amber eyes that stared intensely down at her, a small smile playing on the corner of his upturned mouth. James seemed to back away almost immediately as he scowled at the man standing watching him with carefully, a curt nod was given to Bella as he turned to walk away, "I will be in touch Miss Swan. Our conversation can wait until another time." He moved with slow and deliberate grace and disappeared through the group of people still dancing. She felt as if she had just come of a fairground ride, the air was lost in her lungs and her head was still spinning from the exhilaration as she felt a jolt travel up her arm to her elbow as a cool strong hand captured hers and pulled her in towards him to begin dancing, the other slipped behind and held her lightly across her back, "Let's just dance as if nothing had happened, keep your focus over my shoulder and breathe slowly Bella."**_

_**It took her a few astonished seconds to finally find her voice as she stared up at the face of the man she had seem frequently in her dreams, the same haunting eyes, the same face that looked too beautiful to be human…**_

"_**E-Edward?"**_

_**A tight smile reached his eyes as he stared down at her, locking Bella immediately into some kind of trance as a shiver passed through her, "Dance with me Bella, for now."**_

_**She complied with his request and allowed him to move her with grace and ease her body feeling boneless from fear and excitement, **_**"W-what are you doing here?"**_** she whispered, her anxious eyes searched his face, not really believing his presence here was real. As an offer of an apology, Edward lifted his shoulders and shrugged, "Let's just say you weren't the only one that travelled through the portal when you disappeared," his deep voice was almost like a caress as he spoke reading her face for any signs of distress, when he saw none he continued, "You began glowing and in that split second I knew you were about to go back, at least that's what I thought and grabbed for your at the last minute."**_

"_**YOU came with me?" she practically shouted, causing Edward to pull her closer to him as he whispered urgently in her ear as, **_**"Be quiet there might be people listening in."**

_**She shivered again feeling his cool breath on her skin at her neck as she licked her dry lips and nodded, lowering her voice as she spoke, "if you came with me, why did you not end up in the same place?"**_

"_**Because" Edward began slowly, "you returned to the place where you had transported from, whereas I ended up in a field surrounded by not exactly the most pleasant of company."**_

_**Bella tried not to laugh, "The cows not take a liking to your boorish company?" she was rewarded by a scowl before he realised that the last time they had spoken he wasn't exactly being hospitable, "Bella," he began as he scanned the crowd, feeling too exposed to explain anything, "is there somewhere we can talk…alone?"**_

"_**Alone?" Bella's eyes widened, "we can't be seen alone, there would be all kinds of accusations and assumptions…"**_

"_**That's not what I meant," Edward interrupted, "I'm fully aware what kind of scandal it would create but we really do need to talk somewhere private. There are some things you need to know that are relevant to your…impromptu visit to my world with the hope of getting me back there."**_

_**Understanding what Edward meant, Bella nodded as she tried to find Siobhan again but with so many moving around and dancing it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She noticed her parents had joined everyone and were locked in a private conversation of their own. Her heart lurched with happiness at seeing them both together and knew that they'd had so little private time since they had moved here, **_

"_**We can't here, there are too many people around" Bella began, feeling completely frustrated about the situation, "If we were to be caught together I would fear my dad would be after you with a gun and throw you in the gallows to rot…or worse."**_

_**Edward smirked at her interesting proposal, "I've had worse." He said mostly to himself and was grateful when Bella didn't hear what he'd said "Tonight!" she cried, turning and smiling at him as if she had just won something delightful,**_

"_**What about tonight?" Edward asked, wishing he knew what she was thinking inside that head of hers. Bella waved her hand impatiently flushing as she spoke, "You can meet me tonight when everyone is in bed back at Wideacre of course."**_

_**He thought about this for a moment it seemed a good idea to meet her in the place where all this craziness had started, maybe he would get to the bottom of the puzzle that had ripped him from his family and transported him back to a time before he was even born.**_

"_**Where do we meet?" he asked carefully moving around a plump woman with a very young suitor dancing too close to be deemed acceptable. He watched as Bella's eyebrows knitted together as she bit her bottom lip in concentration, "We can't meet in the library," she began apologetically, "Charlie will have people back after the party and goodness knows when that will finish." Then as an afterthought she asked, "Can you climb?"**_

_**Edward gave her a withering look, "of course I can climb why?"**_

"_**There's a trellis outside my window that runs around the front entrance to the side of the house." Bella began and then blushed before shaking her head as if she was mentally scolding herself, "The only place no one will think of disturbing me will be my bedroom. You will need to climb through the window…I will leave It unlocked."**_

_**Edward thought for a moment, before adding, "No one will look?" at his question Bella blushed again and lowered her eyes to his chest, "my maid will look in on me around eleven before retiring herself. My mother tends to go up early than myself so she will be fast asleep…"**_

_**He nodded at this as the music stopped with the announcement of a ten minute break in the programme both he and Bella had stopped as she slipped her hand from his and folded them in front of her looking awkward and shy, "I will come by around midnight," he offered as she nodded keeping her eyes averted from his. Seeing this as the end to their dance, Edward lifted one of her hands in his, bringing it to his lips and kissing the back of it gently, watching as Bella's eyes widened and a deep scarlet flush covered her face, "Until then Miss Swan," he spoke in a low enough tone for only Bella to hear. When she nodded he reluctantly let go of her hand as she shivered and clasped it once more in her other one. Bowing slightly, Edward turned and walked away as Bella watched his retreating back once more.**_

_**As if by magic, Siobhan appeared at Bella's side as soon as he left, her face flushed as if she'd been running, "Thank goodness Miss you're alright!" Bella blinked at her in confusion, "Whatever do you mean and where were you, I tried looking for you and you had gone?"**_

_**Siobhan shook her head as she flatted the palm of her hand against her chest, "I went to the ladies room to freshen up and someone locked the door behind me." Siobhan began explaining "It's taken me all this time banging the bleedin' door before anyone came to unlock it and let me out."**_

"_**Are you alright?" Bella gasped "you look really pale, come and sit down and I'll get someone to fetch you a glass of water…"**_

"_**No Miss I'm fine honestly" Siobhan argued smiling faintly but took the offer of sitting as they went back to their empty seats and sat down, "I was more worried about you Miss Bella, that man…Mr…"**_

"_**Stanley," Bella finished, feeling her stomach twist at the thought of him, "Siobhan there's something I have to talk to you about, something really disturbing." She began explaining the conversation that she'd had and the veiled threats James Stanley had giving her as her maid listened intently, shaking her head, a worried frown etched her young face as Bella finished off, deliberately leaving out Edward's appearance, considering she had yet to tell anyone of how she happened to come across the extraordinary pendant she kept out of sight from everyone, hidden underneath her gown,**_

"_**This is bad Miss Bella, really bad." Siobhan began, "I'll need to let my Da know about this. He'll be most anxious to know Montgomery Stanley's brother is sniffing around Wideacre, see if he can speak to one of his friends who works in the law and find what was written in the will and testament of Morgan Cullen."**_

"_**But what do you think he wants?" Bella asked worriedly, "anything in the house is just books and furniture. Surely there is nothing of such great importance to threaten my family's occupation of the house with?"**_

_**Siobhan avoided looking at Bella as she chewed on her bottom lip, her hands clasped and unclasped in her lap, "I did say his brother was into dark dealings Miss Bella. He was a wicked man, an evil man drunk on the desire to worship things unholy."**_

_**Bella felt faint as she clutched the table for support, knowing that it was possible one of the things James was after she was in fact wearing – the pendant with the snake carved into it, "But why now, why not when the house was vacant…why become interested in it now when my family is living in it?"**_

"_**There's recent activity," Siobhan began carefully, "To suggest that maybe Mr Stanley might be behind it. He would have known his brother was into worshipping demons and calling upon them from the bowls of their dimensions, it's possible he's after what was left her by his sister in law."**_

_**Bella shivered, feeling a cold air freeze her skin, as if a window had been left open too long, "and what was that?"**_

"_**The Dark Devices" Siobhan replied as she stared at Bella, with no trace of humour.**_

_**Everyone returned home safely from the successful party and warmly received debut of Bella into the season's list of 'fashionable ladies'. As predicted, Renee after biding everyone goodnight retired to her chambers leaving Charlie with a dozen or so men to drink and smoke cigars in the closed off rooms downstairs while Patrick and his son Liam attended to the drinks and any food that would be required. Bella was already in her room pacing back and forth in front of the fire as she watched the clock above her head strike eleven thirty. Siobhan had spoken no more about what it was she thought James Stanley was after, deciding it would be best to talk to her father in the morning when she had a free moment. It seemed that whatever it was known as the 'Dark Devices' needed to be found and hidden just in case there had been some clause in the Will of Morgan Stanley-Cullen to suggest that the house belonged to Montgomery Stanley, allowing his brother a chance of taking it seeing as he wasn't so much interested in the bricks that held Wideacre together, but what was inside of it. Bella had already assured her she would be able to undress herself and get ready for bed, feigning a headache and didn't want to be disturbed. Siobhan had reluctantly agreed to this as long as Bella promised not to go near the window or open it, warning that it wasn't safe now that it was believed the house was being watched.**_

_**Bella could have laughed at the irony of such a loaded assessment as she unlocked the catch of the window, pulling it open slowly so as not to disturb, the moon was full in the sky, coating the fields with its silvery light and casting shadows through the trees. It was bright enough to see Moonacre as if someone had switched a light on and illuminated the ground. Closing the curtains she sat opposite the window now and waited as the time on the clock slowly moved towards midnight.**_

_**She heard a noise, a hoot from an owl close by and rubbed her hands up her bare arms to ward of the chill. A rustle as something or someone seemed close by, movement careful and deliberate could be heard just outside her window,**_

"**I'm out of my mind, I'm out of my mind…"**_** she chanted to herself, hearing Siobhan's stark warning of not opening her window ring loudly in her ears as the curtain moved in front of her window and she prepared herself to scream.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**The dark side of the moon**

_**The Dark Devices…**_

_**The door was knocked lightly, causing Bella to leap practically out of her skin as she clutched her chest and swallowed a cry. With shaky legs, she went over to her bedroom door and opened it just enough to see who it was…**_

_**Charlie?**_

"_**D-dad what's the matter?"**_

_**Her father stood just outside her door, his bow tie was no longer tied and the top button of his shirt was open. Gone was his vest and jacket he looked tired but happy as he gave her a warm friendly fatherly smile,**_

"_**Bells, can I come in just for a minute?"**_

_**She glanced behind her quickly, her nerves raw and set on edge. Any second now Edward would be making an appearance at her bedroom window. How on earth was she going to let him know her father was in her room?**_

"_**S-sure, come in I was just going to get ready for bed?"**_

_**This seemed to alarm her father as his eyes widened, "O-oh, well if you're going…to get ready for bed…I'll, I'll just…"**_

_**Bella smiled tenderly at her father's spluttering as she pushed the door wider, "Come in dad it's alright."**_

_**Charles Swan entered his daughter's bedroom looking decidedly uncomfortable as Bella closed the door behind him and stood with her hands clasped in front of her, looking at her father with quizzical eyes, "Is there something wrong?" her soft voice asked him.**_

_**He looked at his daughter with kind eyes, they had always been close even when she was very small but the months since moving to Ireland had not been kind to their relationship, especially after being attacked he sensed a vulnerability in his daughter that worried him,**_

"_**How have you been holding up Bells?"**_

'_**Bells' was her father's endearing shortened name for her. He was never one use her full name 'Isabella' preferring to give her a nickname that he thought suited her more, less conservative and fussy. His jet black hair slicked with hair product shone with the reflection of the fire crackling in the grate. Brown eyes that danced with merriment whenever he told a joke then became warm like molasses whenever he gazed adoringly at Renee. His neat trimmed moustache and strong masculine jaw held the veneer of authority that when wearing his Police Uniform made him look smart, professional and handsome. Whereas Renee was small with light auburn hair and deep blue eyes, Bella always knew she took her colouring after her dad finding is sometimes easier to blend into the background and not be seen. Not to be bothered with all the fuss of looking pretty, dressing to attract attention like so many girls her age with one intention and that was to catch a gentleman suitors eyes.**_

_**Moving so that she was opposite the window facing her father, Bella glanced at the clock anxiously, it was eight minutes to midnight, "I'm fine dad," she answered twitching nervously under his scrutiny, "what's the matter, is there something wrong?" she knew her father wouldn't normally seek her out, especially this late. Charlie raked his fingers through his hair before rubbing the back of his head, a nervous disposition she knew he did whenever he had something on his mind,**_

"_**I know it's been hard on you Bells," Charlie began, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips as he glanced at her quickly, "moving here from home, having to…adjust" he waved his hand around her room and it's meagre belongings, "then of course there was the attack…"**_

"_**Dad," Bella began arguing, "I'm fine honestly," seeing the look of relief on his face Bella continued with more encouragement, "sure you getting hurt was…worrying," she grimaced remembering the blood, "but you're fine now and the party was…lovely…thank you. Both you and mom," she took a deep breath feeling a little emotional, "did so much for me…"**_

"_**It was nothing," Charlie replied gruffly, "You deserve everything Bella. Never let anyone tell you different."**_

_**She nodded her face felt hot with embarrassment it wasn't always easy talking to her father. Sometimes she had often wondered that if he'd had a boy instead of a girl, would it have made any difference in being able to express his emotions that he kept guarded and close to his chest.**_

"_**Well," he announced, clearing his throat an indication that he'd outstayed his welcome, "as long as you are alright and enjoyed tonight?" Bella smiled and nodded, "I did thank you."**_

_**He smiled at her then with an odd look crossing his face, as if he was seeing her for the first time, "You look beautiful Bella, all grown up. Where did my little girl go?"**_

_**Scarlet tinged her cheeks from his compliment as she rolled her eyes and gave him a nervous laugh, "like you said, I've grown up dad."**_

_**Charlie nodded sharply, "that you have Bells, that you have." Seeing as the conversation had reached its end and knowing that he had guests waiting downstairs for him, her father moved towards the bedroom door, "well, goodnight Bella, sleep well."**_

_**Bella walked behind him as he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, smiling back at him as pushed his hands into the pockets of the dark pants of his evening suit, "goodnight dad."**_

_**He left to join his party lounging in his study, their noise carried up from downstairs and Bella closed her bedroom door, hearing the click as she pressed her palm against it,**_

"_**That was a touching moment" a deep male voice spoke behind her as she whirled around to stare at Edward leaning against the wall just beyond the bedroom window, half in shadow half in light,**_

"_**H-how long have you been standing there?" Bella asked nervously, moving away from the door and crossing the room. Edward smirked, one corner of his mouth turned up as he watched her with his expressive golden coloured eyes that reminded her of a lion, "A while" his lips twitched as if he was supressing a grin, "he worries about you too much. Can't say I blame him," Edward moved further into the bedroom matching her walk until they were both standing opposite each other across the space of the fire, "if only he knew you were inviting men into your bedroom at this late hour by an open window…"**_

_**She heard a trace of amusement in his voice and chose to ignore it, "You were the one who said we couldn't talk at the party" she snapped at him, "no one asked you to follow me back to my time…"**_

"_**After you dropped into mine unannounced," Edward challenged her mockingly, "how could I not pass up the opportunity to do the same?"**_

_**Bella crossed her arms in front of her, willing her temper to remain in check. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to her room by speaking louder than was necessary, "for your information" she continued in a harsh whisper, "how was I to know your ancestors, had a tendency to hide valuable objects in concealed compartments in books?"**_

"_**Not my ancestors," Edward argued crossly as he rocked on his heels, "Carlisle is my adoptive father."**_

_**Bella mouthed an 'o' before swallowing the bite in her voice, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."**_

_**Edward shook his head as he lowered his eyes to the carpet with smile, "no apologies necessary Bella, of course you wouldn't know anything about my background. We've only known each other a short time. You barely got to understand anything before you decided to go back…"**_

"_**I did not decide," Bella shot back, "I don't know how or why it happened, but one minute you were talking to me and the next…"**_

"_**You glowed brightly like a star and vanished. Only this time I came with you." finished Edward, his bright eyes watching her. Causing Bella's breath to hitch in her throat and stick as she rubbed her forearms absently, feeling suddenly chilled, "Yes well…as you said I somehow glowed and I found myself back here, whereas you were?"**_

"_**Ah," Edward replied, a deep rumbling laugh echoed in her room as he moved with sinuous grace towards the fire place and leaned a long arm across the mantel, "I wasn't as…fortunate as you were I'm afraid," his lips curled upwards producing the most distracting dimples, "I happened to find myself in a room surrounded by barrels of whiskey and smelling not exactly the freshest for it…"**_

"_**Wait a minute?" Bella stopped him mid-sentence, "I thought you said you woke up in a field surrounded by cows?" Edward grinned wickedly at her, tilting his head to one side in an attempt to apologise, "I'm afraid I was a little…ah…colourful with the truth. The fact of the matter is I happened to find myself in the 'Devil's Cup' I believe it's called, a wonderful tavern just on the outskirts of the town with an unusual collective of reprobates."**_

"_**Sounds charming," Bella replied dryly, and was rewarded with an amused, "Oh it wasn't too bad," he sighed dramatically, "once I was able to find my bearings it didn't take me long to find out where I was, of course my wardrobe did need some careful consideration."**_

_**At the mention of his clothing, Bella took note for the first time of what Edward was wearing. Like every gentleman at the party tonight, Edward had opted for dark charcoal grey evening attire, a short tailored jacket with matching vest, a stark white shirt and silk bow tie. Lighter coloured tapered pants and black polished shoes finished him off to polished perfection. His hair was as she had remembered it in both sleep and moments of weakness, when she recalled her first meeting with him where he was less than hospitable to her slightly unruly as if his long fingers had raked through it countless times. The white shirt only emphasised his pale skin that glowed in the firelight, the only colour was from his deep red full lips that were pressed now into an easy grin. His eyes glowed like the colour of fine whiskey, amber and warm around the edges,**_

"_**Do I meet with your approval?" he asked, one perfectly groomed eyebrow arched in question bringing Bella out of her 'daydream' and back into reality, "It seems you landed on your feet then without any cause for concern?" she raised her chin giving him a haughty expression which only seemed to amuse him further, "If you can call having to find the necessary requirements to blend in then yes, I managed to find suitable clothing Bella. Not before finding out if you had managed to come across with me and not be caught between both worlds…"**_

"_**How did you find me then?" she asked now, intrigued as to what happened after she was pulled from one dimension to the other. He studied her carefully for a moment before answering, "I took the liberty of finding out about Carlisle's home while you were occupied with telling my family how you happened to appear there in nothing but your nightgown." Bella remembered vaguely Edward's lack of enthusiasm in her story as Carlisle and the others had listened attentively to it, forced herself not to blush at the mention of what she had been wearing at the time, Edward didn't seem to notice her distress as he continued, "Wideacre isn't hard not to find and once I did, I watched from a distance to see if you would come out. How lucky was I to find that your family are church goers, nice bonnet by the way."**_

_**Bella opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it again as she could see a hint of mischievousness in his eyes and knew it was pointless not to give him the satisfaction of teasing her, "Mr Cullen you presume too much about me." She allowed her comment to hang there for a minute before she continued, "If you saw me and understood I had made it safely back, then why could you have not got a message to me sooner?"**_

"_**Oh but I tried," replied Edward nodding at her his face devoid of any humour except for the corner of his mouth tilting upwards again, giving him a decidedly tempting lop-sided grin, "several times in fact but you looked everywhere except where I was sitting…"**_

"_**That was YOU!" Bella gasped as she took a step towards him, "I knew someone was calling my name I just knew IT!"**_

_**Edward shook his head laughing, "And yet you chose to look at every other man sitting around you except me…how insulting."**_

_**She rolled her eyes and then remembered that it wasn't something a lady should do. In fact there were a great deal of things a lady shouldn't do and one of them was to invite a man into her bedchamber, "You really shouldn't be here." Her whispered voice held a hint of nervousness as her hands twisted together in a knot, finding it difficult to concentrate when he was herein the room with her…alone, **_

"_**And yet…here I am" Edward spoke, his voice held a deep timbre velvety in texture as his eyes roamed over her face, as if tracing it to memory. Licking her dry lips, Bella tried to break the enchanting spell that somehow had woven around her. Flirtation was something she was inept at doing, finding it difficult as it was just smiling at a man in passing, "but how do I get you back to your world?"**_

_**The air had a heavy feeling to it as they stood watching each other, not daring to move in case the spell was broken. She had never felt this way before, not when it came to matters of the heart or any kind of wanton need that she had only ever read or heard about when others thought they weren't being listened to. Cracks in doors and hushed voices talking of men flushed with desire for a woman that had caught their eye. The mere thought of it sent Bella's heat rate soaring as she tried to lower her eyes from Edward's afraid to lose control.**_

"_**Your necklace," Edward began slowly as he took a step towards her, his hand reached out when he was within touching distance and traced the thin chain that hung past her collarbone and dipped lower, "You had it on you when you disappeared," his voice was husky as Bella's breathing hitched, her pulse fluttering against her skin like a hummingbirds wings, "I-I haven't taken it off since then," she shakily answered as Edward deftly pulled the chain with his long index finger and thumb until it came out from behind the bodice of her dress, the clear stone glittered in the light of the fire and the gas lamp, "It's so warm" he murmured as he held the stone in the palm of his hand. Bella could barely breathe as she watched him transfixed watching him look examining the stone carefully, "so this is the source of all this trouble?"**_

"_**T-that and the book" Bella replied, still staring up at him in transfixed. it was like looking up at the face of an angel, all pale white alabaster skin and heavenly eyes, "Ah yes," Edward responded slowly, "Where is that infernal book that unlocks all the dark secrets of the underworld?" his eyebrow arched as a slow smile spread across his face as he watched Bella staring at him and appeared to enjoy distracting her. Her heart stumbled and stuttered in her chest as she swallowed nervously. The heat in his eyes held no mistake, if she didn't move now before it was too late then there was every chance they would either kiss - something she desired very much, or most likely Edward would embarrass her further with his playful teasing, knowing that she was innocent to the ways of a man's charms, "I-Its hidden in my nightstand. I took the liberty of putting it there when I came back." Bella managed to croak out and to her surprise Edward grinned wickedly as he placed the pendant back against the soft velvet bodice at the front of the dress, before tracing a cold finger down the skin at her throat where the chain parted in a 'V' shape, "Then I guess I'd better take a look at it."**_

_**With stiff legs that felt wooden, Bella turned immediately and moved to her nightstand, her movements were jerky and nervous from one simple touch that was as light as a feather against her skin as she opened the drawer. With shaky fingers she retrieved the slim leather bound volume and held it up in front of her, "Here it is" she announced breathlessly as Edward moved beside her, a shadow of apprehension crossed his face as he held his hand out to take it.**_

"_**This is it?" he inquired as he touched the book's cover, feeling the texture of worn leather against his fingertips and tracing the gold leaf lettering of its title, "and you say the necklace you are wearing was hidden inside of it?"**_

_**Bella simply nodded, "Yes open it and you will find the compartment," as by way of demonstration she lifted the front cover avoiding touching his hand as she turned to the middle of the book where the square hole had been cut out of the pages that had once been there,**_

"_**Impressive" Edward smirked as he touched the inside of the hole until his long fingers hit the back cover, "cleverly disguised as a book no one would even think it held such a strange treasure inside. Tell me…" he turned his topaz gaze towards her again, "how come you happened to stumble across it?"**_

"_**I told you," Bella replied resentfully recalling exactly what she had told Carlisle and the others with Edward skulking somewhere in the background blatantly ignoring her "I was putting a book back I had been reading when my fingers brushed passed it. It felt hot to the touch,"**_

"_**And you so happened to pick it up?" he arched his eyebrow at her which only seemed to irk her further, "as a matter of fact I did," she shot back, raising her chin to look up at him with narrowed eyes, "again this are also aware of as I told your father…" **_

"_**Foster father," he corrected her with a smirk, which only seemed to spike her temper further, "foster father" Bella continued giving him a withering look, "we have already been through all of this," she finished almost in a whine as Edward lowered his gaze to the open book once more, shrugging his shoulders by way of an apology, "I know, but I like being very thorough, considering I'm stuck here in your time with no understanding or means of getting back."**_

"_**Now you know how I felt" Bella spoke to herself as she moved away from him towards the fire, rubbing her hands against each other to ward off the chill she felt when she stood near Edward. It was near to impossible to understand why he seemed different. Cold to the touch, his skin looked as if it was carved out of marble it was so white. Too chiselled by definition, the words 'Angel' and 'statue' played havoc with her imagination as she studied him underneath her eyelashes secretly. His back was to her and she could make out the broad expanse of his shoulders underneath the expensive cloth he was wearing, remembering what he had said about finding himself in the 'Devil's Cup' and how he managed to find his bearings,**_

"_**What if it has something to do with location?" she began almost reluctantly at first as he turned around slowly to look at her, "meaning?" he asked patiently as she felt herself fall underneath his arrogant gaze once more, "Well…" she began feeling around in her head for just the right words, "you said yourself we somehow got separated, I ended up back in the library downstairs and you happened to arrive in the local alehouse in the next village. What if it has something to do with the location?"**_

_**Edward thought for a moment she saw a flicker of understanding behind his eyes as he nodded, "it is possible I suppose, but that would explain why you were found by my sister in Washington now would it? Considering I am fairly certain Carlisle's father would not have known anything about the 'new world' as they called America back then?"**_

_**Bella felt ashamedly puzzled as she sank down onto the overstuffed love seat beside the fire, "so now we're back where we started." Rubbing her temples she didn't hear him move until she saw or rather felt a shadow leaning over her, "if it's any consolation," Edward began softly, "you are back where you started whereas I seemed to be trapped here with you."**_

_**She saw devilment play in his eyes; he didn't seem at all annoyed that he was now facing the same uncertain predicament as she did, when she happened to find herself surrounded by beautiful strangers in a strange time, "There must be something we can do?" Her voice came out in a breathless whisper and she inwardly groaned at her betraying attraction towards him.**_

_**A slow flirtatious smile played upon his lips and Bella had to force down a swallow as she felt the heat of her cheeks flush hotly, realising the open ended question she had let slip from her lips, "W-what I meant to mean w-was in…" her heart hammered so loudly against her rib cage she was sure Edward could hear it because of its deafening vibration. As if by strange intervention he did and that irresistible smile got wider, his eyes never leaving hers as he leaned over the back of the chair until their faces were almost touching. The heady scent of cologne and something musky made her almost dizzy and she inhaled deeply as her hands fluttered towards the open neck of her gown where her pulse beat rapidly,**_

"_**E-Edward…" she began, licking her lips, an action Edward followed, his eyes darkening, "M-Mr C-Cullen I really don't think…"**_

_**She was interrupted by a sharp rap on her bedroom door, "Miss Bella can I come in?" it was Siobhan, her voice sounded urgent behind the wooden panel. Anxiously she stood up, glaring at Edward worriedly as he made a motion with his finger to his lips as he moved away from her stealthily to stand behind the changing screen that sat in the corner beside the window. Once she was satisfied he could no longer be seen, she touched her hair and smoothed her hand down her dress and called out towards the door, trying to keep her voice neutral and light. "W-what is it Siobhan, I was just about to get ready for bed?"**_

_**There was silence at first and Bella wasn't sure whether Siobhan at heard her or not as she glanced worriedly in Edward's direction. His bronze head appeared from behind the screen as his golden eyes reflected tension before Siobhan finally spoke, her voice muffled by the door separating them, **_

"_**I won't be a moment Miss Bella, there was something I urgently needed to tell you…at the party…and I've just remembered this instant."**_

_**Bella looked confused as she got from her seat, warranting a harsh whisper from Edward, **_**"don't open the door, send her away!"**

_**Nodding curtly, Bella gathered the skirt of her dress in her hands and moved swiftly to the door as she leaned her hand upon it, "I'm really exhausted Siobhan can't this news wait until the morning?"**_

_**She was rewarded with another silence before Siobhan spoke clearly again, "I-it's urgent Miss Bella…it's about the…it's about James Stanley, there's something I remembered him saying."**_

_**Bella was torn between telling her maid and friend to go away while signalling to Edward to go back out the window he came through. When he refused to budge, something feral lit behind his eyes as he leaned forward against the screen as if straining to hear something, Siobhan turned the handle of the door and it opened inwards, almost knocking Bella backwards, "Miss Bella I won't be a moment if you would just…"**_

_**She never got to finish the sentence as her eyes darted directly behind Bella towards were Edward was hiding as she hissed, "Vampire!" **_

_**Something bright stung Bella's vision as Siobhan's hand lit up in a ball of flames, her eyes were wild as she pushed passed Bella to get to Edward, causing Bella to cry out and try and reach him at the same time, "Night crawler what business do you have here?" Edward lowered himself into a crouching position as he growled at Siobhan his eyes holding her gaze and she stood before him,**_

"_**Bella move away," he practically spat at her, forcing his demand through his clenched teeth causing Bella to stare at him in a state of shock,**_

"_**What the hell is going on?" she shouted, trying to get herself between Siobhan and Edward, as she turned towards the girl, "what madness has come over you?"**_

_**Siobhan shook her head, her eyes never leaving Edward, "no madness Miss, but you're harbouring a dangerous demon in your room, a demon I am sworn to kill."**_

_**Bella stared between Siobhan and Edward her mind working frantically through everything that was happening, Siobhan had called him a…vampire?**_

"_**Edward…" Bella spoke carefully, bringing her hands up in front of her as she gauged the two of them, Edward "what's going on. Why did Siobhan just call you a vampire?"**_

_**His face was unreadable as he glared angrily at Siobhan who was still holding her right hand out in front of her, wrapped in flickering flames that danced across her palm their angry read and orange flames licked, taunting him, "Bella…" he said slowly and carefully, "move away from the girl and I'll explain everything." Siobhan upon hearing this laughed harshly as she took a step towards him, calculating how much distance there was between them, her other arm flung out towards Bella's direction, "If you believe in god and his angels then I suggest you stay where you are Miss Bella." Siobhan spoke slowly and carefully, "by the Order of Fire I will burn this vampire to ash to protect you."**_

_**Bella blinked sweat from her eyes as the blood rushed through her ears and she felt every nerve ending in her body sing with fright. The now unmistakable burn of the pendant returned, she felt the sensation travel up her arms and across her chest, centring in the middle where the stone burned the brightest, "Oh my god no!" she looked frantically towards Edward who was only a short distance away, her wild eyes told him what he already could see from the corner of his vision, she was about to jump time once more. Siobhan had also noticed the pendant now glowing brighter than the fire in her hand as she let out a cry and drew a cross in blessing across her body. The advantage of that gave Edward mere seconds as Bella felt a rush of fire burn through her body and as she let out a scream he lunged towards her, plunging them both into darkness.**_

_**She felt the air suck out of her lungs as her head hit something solid and she cried out in pain. The sharp sensation flooded her blood cells as she felt herself rolling until she came to a sudden stop. The air felt crisp and damp around her, she inhaled slowly and opened her eyes.**_

_**The dark shadow of the trees bent down above her and the heady scent of cedar filled her lungs and tasted of copper and salt in her mouth, as if she had swallowed a penny, was she bleeding?**_

_**A moan escaped her mouth as she brought a hand up to the back of her head feeling a large egg shaped lump there, "Try not to move," came a familiar voice, "you banged your head upon impact." Bella blinked as a face came into focus. His chiselled jaw and straight nose appeared before her in the dark, amber eyes looked down at her with concern as his bronze hair looked in disarray, hanging loosely over his forehead. A rush of adrenaline flooded her veins as Siobhan's voice echoed in her ears "Vampire"**_

_**She let out a scream and pushed herself back with her hands, clawing at something that resembled dirt and grass either side of her as she pushed her body up into a sitting position. The small heels of her slippers dug into the dirt as she scrambled backwards to get away from him. Her eyes widened with fright as he rose slowly from a kneeling position to stand, watching her with hooded predatory eyes,**_

"_**I know what you are" her voice croaked out in a ragged whisper, the air around her fell in stagnant silence. He was still dressed in the suit he had worn at her party, and she didn't need to look down to know she was wearing the velvet gown also. They were no longer standing in the middle of her bedroom; with Siobhan's wild piercing eyes boring into Edward instead they appeared to be in the middle of some kind of woodland area, the damp smell she has associated with when she opened her eyes was air and earth damp from rain that had fallen recently. Her back hit the stump of a tree at the same time her mind registered a sharp pain from her left ankle, possibly caused when she hit the ground tumbling away from the fire that had consumed her skin. The silvery moon was high in the sky, casting a glimmering light over Edward,**_

"_**Say it!" he spoke slowly, watching her reaction as she inhaled sharply, "out loud. Say it!" his deep voice commanded her to speak never breaking eye contact with her. Her lips trembled as she opened her mouth, not knowing if she was still locked inside a dream and would awaken from it any moment, "Vampire."**_

_**A slow smile slid across his lips, his eyes glittered in the moonlight as he moved slowly and measurably towards her. All her senses became alert as she watched him. She had never giving much thought to how she would die. That monsters and demons could actually exist in her world but after witnessing and seeing for herself that some things that went beyond your imagination were real…she knew that she was in the company of the worst kind of demon imaginable,**_

"_**Are you afraid?" he asked standing in front of her, his long pale hands clenched to his sides.**_

_**Was she? Bella knew she should be. After all she had travelled to his world, was invited into his home and not once did she sense to fear him. His strange eyes had frightened her initially but surely if he was the demon Siobhan professed him to be, wouldn't he have already drained her of her blood…**_

"_**No." Bella stuttered, and then calmly she lifted her chin by way of showing him that she wasn't, "no." she answered with more confidence, watched as the emotions crossed his face, from anger to shock to anger again, "You should be" His low voice spoke, "you should fear me."**_

_**But she didn't. All her senses kept telling her that she should run as fast as she could like the devil was riding her back. But she remained where she was, her ankle wouldn't be able to support her weight even if she tried. Absently Bella's hand moved to the source of her pain and rubbed it, feeling the skin swelling under her fingertips. Watching her touch her ankle, Edward's eyes seemed to darken as he moved with purpose beside her and kneeled down on the damp earth, "How bad is it?" he asked briskly as Bella shivered, swallowing hard as she spoke, "I think I've twisted it" she felt foolish as hot tears stung behind her eyes, a mixture of fear and anxiety clawed down her throat as Edward pushed her hand away from her leg, the sharp cold contact of his skin against the nylon of her stockings made her suck in her breath. His long tapered fingers pressed tenderly around the swollen area, his face was lowered and she could see his jaw clenched in concentration as his eyes that were hidden from her behind long eyelashes, scanned the injury like a physician examining a sick patient,**_

"_**It doesn't appear to be broken," he answered her question for her, "but I need to get you out of here so I can bandage it."**_

_**Bella blinked back tears as her chest constricted and her voice jammed in her throat. They had just vanished from her room and wound up somewhere she had no clue as to where they were. Had just told him he was a vampire and now he wanted to get her somewhere possibly his demonic lair so he could bandage it properly?**_

"_**W-what, so you can kill me and dump my body in a nearby river?" her question came out with a shrill laugh, this had to be a dream for only in dreams did she have bizarre conversations like this?**_

_**Edward stared at her with no trace of amusement in his face as he removed his hand from her leg and leaned back on his feet, "trust me Bella, if I was the monster your servant claimed I was, you'd be dead by now."**_

_**When she didn't make a move to argue, he let out an aggravated sigh as he rubbed the dirt of his hands, "we don't have time to discuss my demonic origins right now. There will be time enough for that later but right now…"**_

_**He glanced around him seemingly trying to get his bearings, "If you will be so kind as to let me carry you, I promise I'll not try to think about killing you and we can get out of here before we attract any more attention."**_

"_**What do you mean more attention?" Bella began to protest but never got a chance to find out what he meant as with one swift movement, she was gathered in his arms and he was running through the thicket of trees surrounding them. A low rumbling growl roared out behind them but he kept her close to his cold wall of chest making it impossible to see behind him. the thick trees whizzed past her head in a blur and she found it near to impossible to focus her eyes on anything except that the robbing in her ankle became a dull thrum and the speed in which Edward was running made her head light and dizzy,**_

"_**Where are we going?" her voice carried choppily as Edward pushed on effortlessly, "not far now," Edward offered in explanation as a rumbling noise sounded behind her and she tried once more to look over his shoulder, "keep your eyes in front Bella, don't look!" Edward's steel command echoed through her ears and she shivered in response, "why?"**_

_**He didn't take his eyes off looking were they were going, but his jaw locked in a tight response as his nostrils flared, "we're being followed."**_

_**A ripple of fear ran through her as she held on tightly to Edward, her arms locked around his throat as she closed her eyes tightly, "who by?"**_

_**His laugh was a short back as his eyes glittered quickly down at her before shooting back up again, "the real monsters."**_

_**If there was an ounce of humour in his comment she would have laughed. Everything she had experienced so far would have made for an interesting ghostly tale to frighten any poor unsuspecting person. Demons or monsters were the gifts of fools who told tall stories to seek entertainment…her life had suddenly become a source of extraordinary entertainment as she struggled to understand what it was she had got herself involved in,**_

"_**r-real monsters?" she asked, fear dripping like blood as he turned sharply to the left, the wind whipped through her hair and pulled at the diamond pins that held it in place, he was speeding up making her feel as If she was flying,**_

"_**It seems those who are sworn to protect the Dark Devices are hunting the wrong one," Edward bit out angrily as he turned sharply again, gathering more speed as he crushed her rightly to him, all the while Bella, could hear the rapidly approaching thudding noise getting nearer to them. Her breath rushed out in sobs as her hands pinched painfully together against the hard expanse of his corded neck and she remembered Siobhan mentioning something about Devices that had one time belonged to Montgomery Stanley as they reached a clearing and Edward slowed down, lowering her to the ground but not letting go of her as a cry almost like a wounded howl, echoed in the night. The cry was ear shattering as Bella whipped her head around squinting into the darkness of the forest walls, "we're safe, for now," Edward spoke softly as she noticed for the first time to her shock he wasn't out of breath from all that running, in fact, he wasn't breathing at all.**_

"_**w-what was following us Edward, and what has it got to do with the Dark Devices?"**_

_**He didn't speak for a moment; his eyes seemed to be scanning the forest for any sign of something approaching them as he lifted his head up as if sniffing the air. Satisfied that nothing was out there, he bent down and gathered her into his arms again, causing her to yelp with surprise as he took off in a more leisurely pace but still fast to her standards, "we're are you taking me?" Bella demanded as he strode off in the opposite direction from where they had come, "do you know where we are?" when he didn't answer her, Bella rolled her hands into tight fists and hammered them against his rock hard shoulders in exasperation. He could be so charming one minute and a complete and utter rude cad the next. If he was what Siobhan said he was – a vampire, that was no excuse for poor manners, whether if he was living or not. **_

_**Remembering his lack of breathing, Bella shuddered inwardly as he finally spoke, "this time when began to disappear you didn't vanish too far. So, we are still in your century…unfortunately for me." Edward grimaced as he looked up into the moonlit sky, "if we can just get out of the forest, I will be able to get you somewhere safe while I tend to that injured ankle. As for what was following us…" he stared down at her then with a look that made her shiver with fear, "I am not your worst enemy Bella. Whatever the reason that has somehow, brought us together, there are far greater monsters out there than what I am, and they're all after the one thing."**_

_**Bella gazed up at Edward nodding because she knew what he meant, "The Dark Devices," she replied solemnly, "Siobhan told me about them."**_

_**Edward shook his head, his eyes held a darkness behind them that made her wish she hadn't asked, "No Bella…"his haunting voice answered, "You."**_


End file.
